A Hot Summer's Night
by A. X. Zanier
Summary: A mission that's just a walk in the park.
1. New Orders

  
Author: A. X. Zanier  
Rating: PG-13/R (Language, violence, adult situations, vivid and gross imagery)  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or basic story ideas to The Invisible Man and I make  
no money from the writing of these stories. Any additional characters or story ideas are mine to do  
with as I please, including torture and death.  
Timeline: # 5 After Interlude. Original Post 12/29/2000 @   
yahoogroups.com/IMFanfic  
Comments: This is the revised version.   
Enjoy!!!  
  
Thanks to Rebecca(WorkerCaste) my brave Beta reader.  
  
A Hot Summer's Night  
  
Men say great pride goeth before the fall. This is a paraphrase. The actual quote is: "Pride  
goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."  
  
Our little group had been feeling pride in full measure. Things had begun to mesh between the three  
of us, the Official was pleased with the work we'd been doing, and the Keep claimed to be making  
progress with the gland. We had begun to think there was nothing we couldn't handle, no evil we  
couldn't defeat, no problem we couldn't solve. We had no way of knowing of exactly wrong we were  
until it was too late.  
  
  
"You want us to go where? And do what?" Darien asked, sounding incredulous.  
  
"It's a National Park near L.A.," Eberts said, handing out the information files. "There has been  
a series of fires there that all appear to have been started by the same person or group."  
  
"So you want us to catch ourselves a firebug," Hobbes commented.  
  
"Exactly," the Official said, smiling sardonically. "This is no camping trip folks. I expect  
results and quickly. Our landlords have expressed a bit of urgency in solving this matter."  
  
"There is no way we can drive the van off-road," Alyx commented, rubbing her eyes.  
  
"You will be provided a vehicle when you arrive, or you may provide your own if you wish," Eberts  
said. Alyx may not have been here all that long, but he knew she had made a variety of contacts and  
connections in the area. She tended to keep busy even when not on a mission. "Your contact info is  
in the file. They are expecting you by this evening."  
  
"Shall we, kiddies?" Hobbes said, thumbing through the file as he left the room.  
  
"You coming Alyx?" Darien asked when she didn't move. He had noticed how tired she looked, but was  
trying to not worry too much about her.  
  
"You go ahead. I need to speak with the Official for a minute," Alyx said without turning to look  
at him. Her voice was tight and she didn't look at all happy.  
  
When Darien had left, a slight look of concern for her on his face, Eberts spoke. "What can we help  
you with?"  
  
"Take me off this case. I'll do anything else. Even shuffle paper and scut work. Just don't make me  
do this one," Alyx said, doing her best to keep her voice calm. "And don't even pretend you don't  
know why."  
  
"We feel your talents would be useful on this particular case. We won't take you off of it,"   
Eberts said to her. This was one of those times when orders were orders. Even if he didn't entirely  
agree with them.  
  
"You don't know what this will do to me," she said, her voice going very quiet as she felt those  
old fears coming back. She felt the blood drain from her face and fought the sudden urge to  
disappear, literally. "Don't make me do this, please."  
  
At the unexpected please, the Official looked up at Alyx and saw the fear in her eyes. She really  
wanted to be nowhere near this case and yes, he did know why. He dropped his eyes back to the paper  
work on his desk and allowed Eberts to answer for him.  
  
"You will go on this mission, Miss Silver," Eberts stated flatly.  
  
Alyx nodded, turned and left. When the door shut behind her, Eberts placed another paper on the  
desk before the Official to be signed. "Are you sure about this sir? She seemed a bit more upset  
than you thought she would be."  
  
"I noticed, but she has to face this at some point. Now is as good a time as any. She is far more  
capable than even she knows," the Official said as he signed his name.  
  
  
  
Darien sprawled in the chair he both needed and hated, looking over at Claire as she prepared a  
booster injection for him. He was only at a quarter full, but if he had to use the gland at all  
while on this job, he'd be stuck until they got him home. It wasn't like they could run down to the  
corner pharmacy for more, and they were going to be a couple of hours away at best. The Agency still  
didn't trust him or his partners to carry around any extra just in case of an emergency. They still  
had to run home to mommy when he needed his fix.  
  
"When are you going to trust us to take the counteragent with us?" Darien asked as she walked  
towards him with the elephant needle.  
  
"Hmmm," Claire said as she injected him. "Eventually, maybe."  
  
Darien tried not to flinch as the needle broke through his skin and the liquid initially burned its  
way into his system. With a sigh he turned away from the view of the arm being rudely poked, towards  
the sound of the door which had just slid open allowing Alyx to enter the room. She pocketed the mag  
card and gave him a half-hearted smile as she came around the corner.  
  
"Hobbes already bail for home?" Alyx asked, sounding tired and irritated.  
  
"Yeah," Darien said, hopping off the table rubbing his arm. "I'm headed home myself. Pack for a  
couple of days."  
  
Alyx nodded, her mind obviously on something else. "Call Hobbes, would you? I'll pick the two of  
you up in a couple of hours."  
  
"You'll pick us up?" Darien said, sounding a bit surprised. He had to wonder what she was going to  
pull out of her proverbial sleeve this time.  
  
Alyx moved over towards Claire, who was putting away the syringe in the sterilizer. "Yeah. I'll  
arrange for a vehicle that can handle the terrain and pick you up." She turned to look at him. "Is  
that a problem?"  
  
"No. No problem," Darien said to her. "See you in a couple of days, Keep," he called to Claire.  
After one more glance at Alyx, he left the Lab to head home.  
  
"Claire, I need..." Alyx began but stopped when Claire held up her hand.  
  
"The Official already spoke to me. I know what you're asking for, and I can't," she said, her voice  
having gone into unemotional scientist mode.  
  
"You won't, you mean," Alyx said her voice flat.  
  
Claire said nothing.  
  
"Fine. What's another week with no sleep and panic attacks," Alyx snarled turning to leave.  
  
"Alyx," Claire began, sympathy creeping into her voice.  
  
"Don't bother." Alyx stormed out of the Lab, wishing she could slam the door behind her.  
  
Claire sighed. She wished she could help Alyx, but the Official had been very specific in his  
instructions and she was forced to follow them. She turned back to her day's work, hoping things  
would go well for all of them.  
  
  
  
Alyx managed to calm down by the time she got to her car. Well, mostly anyway. Pulling out her cell  
phone, she made a series of phone calls which resulted in the use of a very nice vehicle for the  
duration of this little trip. It would be delivered to her place within the hour. It's amazing what  
knowing just the right people could gain you in this town. Starting the engine of her nifty little  
Jag, she headed for home to do her own packing. They had some driving to do to make the meet by  
this evening.  
  
  
  
They were an hour out of San Diego on the 405 heading for the National Park Service Headquarters in  
the Santa Monica Mountains. There had not been much conversation, at least not that included her.  
When the two men had begun arguing like children about who got to ride up front, she had ordered  
both into the back. They had grumbled, and Darien had pouted, but Alyx had ignored the two of them  
and just stood there waiting until they got in. This wasn't the first time she'd had to deal with  
unruly children. It was obvious to both men that Alyx was a bit out of sorts, but they couldn't get  
her to talk. She simply drove.  
  
Hobbes was the first to admit he was impressed with the vehicle she had arranged for them. He'd  
been skeptical about a woman getting an appropriate vehicle for driving off-road, but she'd made an  
impressive choice. He was happily ensconced in the back seat of a barely street legal Humvee. Not  
the Hummers sold to the public. This was a military issue model, adapted for street use, and it had  
him ready to drool all over the paint job the moment he had seen it. When he had asked her how she  
had gotten a hold of it, she had responded with a cryptic, "I made a couple of calls." Big help  
for his hope of getting one for himself. He'd love to have one of these for work.  
  
He was content for the moment to sit back, talk shop with Darien, and let the kid drive.  
  
"Did you know this was what the kid had in mind for a ride?" Hobbes asked for the fifth or sixth  
time.  
  
And for the fifth or sixth time Darien answered, this time in a tone of voice suitable for a  
thickheaded child, "No. I didn't know. But I'm betting you'd love to have one for work."  
  
"You know it. This sucker has all the bells and whistles. I think I'm in love," Hobbes said,  
sounding a tad breathless.  
  
Alyx ground her teeth. "Could we please not have the same discussion again. It's getting rather  
repetitive and annoying."  
  
"I'm just showing my appreciation for your choice of vehicle, kid. You don't need to get your back  
up," Hobbes said, taking on the tone of a superior yet again.  
  
Alyx growled softly. Things between her and Bobby had gotten better. Not perfect, but they were now  
able to get along, for the most part. Sometimes, however, he made sure to push every button he could  
and she made sure to give just as good as she got. Today she was not in the mood for it.  
  
"Hobbes, she does have a name. Don't you think you should be using it by now?" Darien commented,  
hoping to appease Alyx somewhat.  
  
"I don't need your help," she snapped at him.  
  
"Hey, what did I do?" Darien said, sounding exasperated by the whole thing. Alyx had been like this  
all week. Snapping at the slightest thing. Way crankier than usual and he had no idea why. He'd  
pretty much left her alone this past week, only asking her out to dinner on one occasion. Which  
she'd declined. He'd made no surprise visits at her apartment, so it wasn't that she was angry with  
him specifically. Unless he'd done one of those completely guy things and didn't know it. Heck,  
she'd nearly taken off Eberts' head the other day for some comment he made. The problem with that  
being that if she wanted to, she really could.  
  
Alyx sighed and mumbled, "Sorry." This was turning out to be a very long week and it didn't look  
to be getting better any time in the near future. She really wished Claire had been willing to get  
her that medication. She hadn't needed it in years, but with what had happened to her in the last  
few months she guessed she shouldn't be surprised she was having a recurrence of the nightmares.  
And here she was, taking it out on everyone else. Like it was their fault her brain occasionally  
decided to plumb the depths of her own personal hell. On the two other occasions she'd had these  
problems, she had needed the drugs to get her through. This time they were being withheld on the  
Official's orders. There was no way the fat man could not know what was going on, why she wanted no  
part of this assignment, why the very thought of it made her want to curl in a ball and shake in  
abject terror.  
  
"Look guys, I'm having a really bad week. I wanted no part of this assignment, for reasons I won't  
go into. I'm going to be the bitch from hell for the next week at least, and I'm not going to  
apologize for every little thing I do or say that irritates you. If you don't want to deal with it,  
complain to the boss. He made me go on this assignment. Maybe if you complain loud enough I can go  
home." Alyx said this quickly and in a tone of resignation.  
  
There was silence for several long minutes while the two men mulled what she had said. Amazingly,  
it was Bobby who spoke up first. "Anything we can do to help? Maybe beat up the mook bothering you?"  
  
Alyx laughed. "If only it were that simple." Then in a very sincere tone. "Thanks, Bobby."  
  
"No prob kid. We all have our bad spells now and then." This was indeed something Bobby could  
understand. He, too, had bad days. Or weeks. And, just like her, did his best to get through it  
without help. He knew there were times when help was necessary, but she was not quite ready to ask.  
He, they, would just have to wait until she was ready, able to trust them enough.  
  
Bobby and Alyx's moment of introspection was interrupted by the sudden loud rumbling of Darien's  
stomach.  
  
"Good lord, don't you have that thing trained yet?" Alyx commented, trying not to laugh.  
  
"Ran late again this morning," Darien said a bit sheepishly.  
  
"You're in luck then. Somewhere behind you is a basket filled with goodies from my local deli. Help  
yourselves," Alyx said. "and pass me a water, would you?"  
  
Darien unbuckled and twisted around in his seat, searching for the basket. When he discovered it,  
he found it much heavier than it looked as he dragged it nearer to the seat.  
  
Alyx shook her head at the view presented to her in the rear view mirror. Who'd have thought the  
rear in rear view would be literal one day. She accepted the bottle Bobby handed her with thanks.  
She twisted off the top and took a drink, trying to keep her eyes aimed out the front windshield  
and not at the mirror, which continued to give her a rather interesting view.  
  
After few more minutes, Darien was buckled back in his seat, with an inordinate amount of food  
perched on his lap.  
  
"I hope some of that is for me, partner," Bobby commented.  
  
"Get your own. I'm hungry," Darien said, before handing over an enormous sandwich to Bobby. "Alyx,  
where did you find this place?" he managed around a mouthful of food.  
  
"Couple blocks over from my place. They do picnic baskets for customers. I told them food for a  
small army and they were happy to oblige. Mrs. Epstein keeps trying to set me up with her nephew.  
He's an orthopedic surgeon."  
  
Darien nearly choked with laughter. Bobby had to come to his rescue with several solid thwaps on  
the back.  
  
Alyx watched the road and the idiot drivers around her as they chewed up the miles. Eventually they  
caught the interchange to 101, the Ventura Freeway, and by then they were steadily climbing up into  
the mountains. This was her first time headed up this way and she negotiated the traffic with  
surprising deftness. It helped when you knew what the idiot in front of you was going to do before  
he did it. By the time they had turned off the highway, they were all ready to get out of the  
Humvee and stretch.  
  
Alyx stopped at the main gate and showed her I.D., tossing out the name of her contact to the guard  
at the gate. He made a comment about them making good time and waved them through, after handing  
them a park map and giving them quick and simple directions for where to go.  
  
When they arrived at the Visitor Center/Headquarters building, they parked around back as they had  
been told. They were greeted almost immediately when they got out of the vehicle.  
  
Alyx shook hands with Ranger Maxwell Garrett after she made her way around the vehicle. Her first  
thought was that he filled out that uniform awfully well. Her second came as soon as he touched her  
and it was that this man is worried out of his mind about these fires. Oh, goody.  
  
Well, time to get this misery started.  
  
"Do we have time to get to any of the burns before dark tonight?" Alyx asked as they walked into  
the building.  
  
"Tonight? No, but you have time to get to one of the watch stations near the area that's been  
targeted," Ranger Garrett said in surprise.  
  
"Perfect. If you give me directions, we'll get moving." Alyx entered the building as Garrett held  
the door open for her.  
  
"Is she always like this?" he asked of the other two agents.  
  
"Usually," Hobbes answered.  
  
"Ah, so long as it's normal. Most people after a two hour drive don't want to go off-roading right  
away." He glanced back at their vehicle. "Then again, in that beast it won't matter much. Where  
the hell did you get a military Humvee?"  
  
"Ask Alyx. She got it for us," Darien said.  
  
Garrett just looked rather shocked and led them into his office. "If you can give me thirty minutes  
I'll take you myself. It's my night out there anyway. We might as well go together."  
  
Hobbes looked at his partners. Darien didn't care one way or another. Alyx looked a little  
impatient but shrugged her shoulders. "That will be fine."  
  
"Have a seat then. I just have to check on a few things and finish some paperwork," Garrett said  
gesturing to the variety of sit-on-able furniture in the room.  
  
Alyx found an over-stuffed chair and sat in it sideways, her head leaning against one padded  
armrest, her feet dangling in the air. She watched as Garrett signed a few papers and then turned  
to a computer on a desk in her line of sight. She watched him as he called up weather and wind  
data. Watched his posture change as he read the pages. She refocused her eyes to see what he was  
seeing and swore under her breath at what she read.  
  
"How bad are they expecting it to be?" Alyx asked, seemingly out of thin air.  
  
Garrett turned, startled. "What?"  
  
She waved her arm at the computer. "The winds. How bad?"  
  
Deciding not to acknowledge the fact that she had read the screen from across the room, he  
answered, "Bad, sustained thirty-five plus, gusts fifty to seventy-five easily."  
  
"When?" Alyx said, fearing the worst.  
  
"A day, day and a half at most," Garrett answered.  
  
"Well that explains why they called us in for a firebug," Alyx said with a sigh.  
  
"Okay, could you explain it to us slower ones?" Darien said, looking a bit confused.  
  
"Santa Ana winds," Garrett offered.  
  
"We always get those this time of year. No big deal," Darien said, still not quite getting it.  
  
"Maybe not down in San Diego, but up here we have mountains in the middle of L.A. If a fire starts  
now, it would be a disaster," Garrett explained. "Remember a few years ago, the flames made it to  
the P.C.H.? We had an unusually dry winter this year; this has the potential to be worse."  
  
"Aw, crap," was heard in stereo from both Hobbes and Darien, much to the amusement of Alyx.  
  
  
  
"This is nuts," Hobbes said as they neared the top of the staircase. Not that he was going to admit  
it, but climbing this damn fire tower was not the most joyful experience of his life.  
  
Alyx leaned over the railing from a flight or so up and called down to him. "I heard that."  
  
He swallowed hard at her leaning out so far just to look down at him. Jeeze, wasn't the kid afraid  
of anything? She smiled down at him and then continued to trot up the stairs at double time, her  
footsteps making soft taps on the metal stairs. Garrett was the only one of them keeping up with  
her. Darien was lazily climbing beside him, but his longer legs made it look easy.  
  
Hobbes made the mistake of looking down at the small station at the base of this tower and realized  
exactly how high up they were.  
  
"Incredible view, eh Bobby?" Darien tossed out casually. Considering he used to climb buildings for  
a living, this was nothing.  
  
Hobbes was about to argue with that, but then he really looked out at the view, this time with the  
eyes of an agent. Yeah, it was one helluva view. Great for spotting targets, and shooting them. The  
ultimate sniper tower. Made him glad he was on it and not down in the brush and trees below.  
  
A few more minutes and they too had reached the top. It was divided into both open and enclosed  
watch areas. The enclosed portion had full electric power for the equipment, radio, lights, heat,  
coffee maker, a small refrigerator, and lots of windows. All the necessities. Alyx and Garrett were  
already deep in discussion when they arrived at the top.  
  
Darien had been awfully quiet since first meeting Garrett. He watched the way he and Alyx  
interacted and was...he wasn't sure what he was, but he was pretty sure he didn't like the guy and  
he wasn't entirely sure why. Darien walked up next to Bobby, who seemed a little off while climbing  
the open staircase. Not that his partner would admit to anything, of course, but just in case,  
Darien stayed with him. It was an amazing view. The station and the tower were on the top of a  
ridge, so it was not only the height of the tower but the entire hillside they could look down  
from. It was a long way down. Good thing he had a head for heights.  
  
Little Miss I-can-do-anything obviously had no fear as she casually leaned over the edge up above  
to make a comment to Bobby, who audibly swallowed at Alyx's careless attitude. Darien did his best  
to distract him from whatever was bothering him by pointing out the incredible view. It was like a  
switch had been flipped in Bobby's head and suddenly he was analyzing their position to use for  
their best advantage. That was the Bobby Hobbes he knew. Able to see the advantage to the situation  
even if it scared him buggy.  
  
Darien looked out over the area that could be seen from the top and gave a startled hiss at the  
sight of one of the recently burned areas. It was certainly impressive, everything blackened  
seemingly for miles off over the next ridge.  
  
"That one was small. Only five hundred acres burned before we got it contained," Garrett said,  
noting Darien's reaction to the sight.  
  
"You've pinpointed the location the fire was started?" Hobbes asked.  
  
"Yeah. They're using a chemical rig to start the fires on an electric timing device. It's similar  
to napalm, but homemade. The device explodes, spraying the accelerant out up to a hundred yards.  
It's pretty sophisticated for an arsonist in the woods. It's more like what you would expect from  
something in a city," Garrett said filling in information.  
  
"Was the land recently added? Could it be angry former owners trying to get even?" Alyx asked,  
still looking out over the area.  
  
"No, been part of the park for years," Garrett answered.  
  
"What about drug runners, or terrorist groups? Any of them hang about here?" Hobbes asked.  
  
"Drugs aren't too common around here. Recreational use, yeah, but big time growers?" he shrugged.  
"Look for yourself. It's mostly brush. Kinda hard to hide a pot field."  
  
Hobbes nodded in agreement.  
  
"Fanatics. White supremacy groups and the like. Well, we get groups through here on occasion. If  
they cause trouble we encourage them to move on. Haven't had any real trouble. At least not  
recently," Garrett said, thinking. "Had some religious nuts a few months ago that we had to remove  
with a bit more force than usual, but they haven't been seen since."  
  
"Religious nuts are the worst kind. Willing to die for their beliefs and will do it in a heartbeat.  
Let's hope it's not them," Hobbes said, his voice hinting that he had dealt with the type before.  
  
It was getting dark, the sun setting somewhere behind them. Alyx noted the few areas left unburned.  
"Where would do the most damage?"  
  
"Anywhere through here. There are lots of homes in the valleys around here; if we get a good blow,  
well..." He shrugged.  
  
"Then why this area? Why hit in through here, over and over?" Darien mused aloud.  
  
"I wish we knew," Garrett answered. "We've upped patrols, but they can plant the devices anytime.  
We think they're doing it at night, but it's a lot of area. We can't cover every acre. Best we've  
been able to do so far is catch the fires early and put them out quickly."  
  
"That's why we're here," Hobbes said. "If they show we'll catch them."  
  
Garrett snorted. "No offense, but if experts in the area haven't been able to, how are you?"  
  
"We're a talented bunch," Hobbes said cryptically.  
  
It was full dark now. Garrett stepped over and flipped a switch that lit up the stairs for the walk  
down. "C'mon. I'll get you settled and then I have to come back up for early watch. The towers  
overlap, so we work the night in shifts."  
  
"You guys go ahead. I want to stay for a while," Alyx said.  
  
Darien moved over to her. "You okay?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah. You go on. I'll be fine." She smiled up at him. She appreciated his concern more than she  
dared to let show.  
  
He turned and followed the others back down the stairs, feeling a little less worried about Alyx.  
That had been a real smile for a change. He figured she wanted to try and work out where they would  
go next. She had a knack for guessing correctly in situations like this. Who were they to argue  
about her hunches when they were correct more often than not? He glanced back up toward where she  
still stood, silently wishing her luck in whatever it was she was trying to do up there.  
  
  
  
Alyx shivered and it wasn't due to the temperature dropping. This time of the year the nights got  
quite cool, but she ignored it listening to the night sounds. Trying separate normal sounds from  
artificial ones. Not that they weren't obviously different from on another, she simply had to learn  
and identify them. The high pitched squeals of bats and swallows. The rustle of nocturnal critters  
wandering through the brush looking for their supper. The buzz of an ATV tearing up the hillside.  
The call of a coyote. All catalogued and put away.  
  
Alyx heard Garrett coming back up the stairs some time later and was able to keep herself from  
flinching when he put a heavy coat around her shoulders.  
  
"It gets pretty chilly this time of year," he said when she turned to face him. "You sure you want  
to hang up here for a while? It's not exactly exciting."  
  
She smiled at him. "Neither is my job a lot of the time. Usually a severe case of hurry up and  
wait, punctuated by the occasional bouts of gunfire."  
  
Garrett chuckled. "I'm going to make some coffee. Would you like some?"  
  
"Gods, yes," Alyx said, feeling the desperate need for a caffeine fix.  
  
He walked inside, leaving the door open so that they could still talk.  
  
"Do you guys patrol on ATV's or motorcycles?" she asked him, still hearing the buzz of a small  
engine from out in the darkness.  
  
"ATV's. Why?" he answered over the sound of the coffee grinder.  
  
"I can hear one east of us. I was wondering if it was yours or someone else's," Alyx said.  
  
"Give me a sec and I'll let you know." Garrett finished preparing the coffee and went over to the  
radio. "Location check. Thomas, that you east of Station Three?"  
  
There was the crackle of static for a moment then, "Yeah, running a sweep about ten east of you.  
How the heck did you know?"  
  
Garrett looked over at Alyx, who just shrugged. "Any movement out there?" Yes, he ignored the  
question.  
  
"Except for some mule deer I scared the dickens out of, nothing so far." Thomas said over the roar  
of the engine.  
  
"Good, Garrett out." He set down the mic and walked to the doorway. "How did you hear him?"  
  
"Hey, a girl has to have a few secrets, doesn't she?" Alyx said with a smile. So far she found  
Garrett interesting, smart, and quite handsome. Her senses were just about demanding that she trust  
this man. She was remarkably comfortable with him.  
  
"Secrets. You feds and your I'm-better-than-you attitude." He said this with a smile so that she  
knew he was joking, at least with her. She suspected that at other times it would be a true  
statement of his feelings.  
  
Alyx snorted. "Fed. Don't be impressed. I'm not." She turned about to look at him. "It's just a  
job, and not one of my better ones."  
  
"My lord, a fed who doesn't think that with the badge one acquires godhood. Be still my heart."   
This was accompanied by dramatic flourishes ending with him leaning on the door frame, hand to his  
heart, gasping in overacted shock.  
  
"Idiot," Alyx said, laughing openly. "Where's that coffee?"  
  
"Coming right up, milady." He gave he a bow and went back inside. As he poured the coffee he  
called out to her. "So are you married or seeing anyone?"  
  
"Garrett!" Alyx said, surprised at his audacity.  
  
"I'll take that as a no," he said from the doorway holding two huge mugs of coffee. "I guessed  
cream and sugar." He handed one to her.  
  
"Anything will do right now. I'm beat." She moved to take the mug, her fingers brushing against  
his. She made one of those instant connections and got flashes of feelings and thoughts, unable to  
stop them. She was getting used to this, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it at all.  
  
It was the final image that caused her to freak. A horrific image of Garrett engulfed in flames  
screaming his pain and terror out to the world. Alyx flinched back with a squeal of horror. She  
could feel his agony as the flames crawled over his body. Could smell the smoke and burning flesh.  
Could hear the crackling as the cells of his skin exploded in the heat. Could taste his own flesh  
as even his lips and tongue began to burn.  
  
Still seeing the image, still feeling the pain, the ghost of the scent still in her nostrils and  
the taste in her mouth, Alyx grasped the railing, trying to keep the contents of her stomach where  
they belonged. Her mug of coffee had fallen to the floor and shattered, spraying coffee everywhere.  
Garrett managed to dodge liquid and shards by jumping back, his own coffee spilling everywhere with  
his movement.  
  
For a moment they just stared at each other. Alyx managed to move first, kneeling down to pick up  
pieces of broken mug.  
  
Garrett knelt down and placed a hand on hers, stilling her movement. "Are you all right?"  
  
She let out a shaky breath, thankful his touch hadn't caused a recurrence of the images. She looked  
him in the eye, vowing that what she had seen would never happen to this handsome, sweet man. "Just  
a klutz is all. Sorry about the mess."  
  
"Klutz, my ass. Something happened." Garrett pulled her to her feet and handed her what was left  
of his coffee. "Drink this. I'll get a broom."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Don't worry about it," he said softly. "Stay."  
  
She smiled at him. "Yes sir."  
  
Shaking his head he went to get a broom and dustpan to clean up the mess.  
  
Alyx rubbed her face with her hand. It was going to be a long time until morning.  
  
***** 


	2. Seeing the Sights

  
  
Darien made his way out onto the porch early the next morning, to find Alyx sitting casually in a  
chair, feet up on the porch railing, coffee in hand, chatting with Garrett. For some reason, the  
sight of her smiling brightly while chatting with another man drove any intelligent thoughts from  
his head. He leaned against the railing near her bare feet and waited for her to notice his  
presence.  
  
She finished her sentence and looked up at Darien, unable to avoid knowing he was irritated, and  
with her. After the night she'd had, she didn't really care what bug had gotten up his ass, but she  
put on her best smile and said. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Are you and Hobbes going to be ready to  
leave soon?"  
  
Lifting his own coffee to show it to her, he said crankily, "Can I at least finish this?"  
  
"Don't get snarky with me, Darien. I've been awake for hours waiting for you all," Alyx snapped  
right back at him. Getting out of the chair, she walked into the cabin, allowing the door to slam  
behind her.  
  
"I thought you were partners," Garrett said to Darien.  
  
"We are," Darien said stiffly. As far as he was concerned, what he and Alyx were or weren't was  
none of Garrett's business.  
  
"Then why is it I know she only got maybe two hours sleep last night? None of it peaceful."   
Garrett got up and walked past Darien and into the cabin as well.  
  
"Shit," Darien swore to himself. He took the time to finish his coffee before going back in.  
  
  
  
Alyx had dressed for a hike in the woods. Hiking boots, comfortable jeans tucked into thick socks,  
and long sleeved shirt over a snug tank top. She had braided her hair back out of the way and then  
rolled the braid into a bun and secured it. Darien was dressed like always: jeans, sneakers, and a  
short sleeved shirt over a T-shirt. He looked from Alyx to Garrett, who, except for his Ranger  
badge, was dressed almost identically.  
  
"Max, have you got an extra set of binoculars I could borrow?" she called out as she looked through  
the backpack she was packing.  
  
"Not here, but I have a rifle with a telescopic sight that should do," Garrett answered from the  
kitchen area.  
  
"Yeah, that'll work," Alyx said adding a water bottle to the exterior of the pack. She put it on  
and checked the balance.  
  
Hobbes came out of the room they'd shared the night before, dressed much like the other two. "Is  
there some dress code I missed?" Darien said, feeling out of place.  
  
"Fawkes, you have to learn to prepare for the conditions. Sneaking in the snow you wear white.  
Hiking in the woods, boots and jeans," Hobbes said, shaking his head at his partner.  
  
"And for the beach, a black string bikini," Alyx chimed in.  
  
All three men turned to look at her.  
  
"I don't think I'd care to see your partners in that particular outfit, Alyx," Garrett said to her,  
trying to keep a straight face.  
  
"Well, I did mean for me, but it could be interesting..." Alyx mused aloud.  
  
"Don't you dare even think it kid," Hobbes said in a mock threatening tone. "I'll leave the clothes  
with strings to you."  
  
"Oh, Bobby, you're so sweet. I'll have to remember to pack my g-strings for our next trip."   
Somehow she managed to say this with a straight face while poor Bobby blushed beet red and nearly  
choked on his coffee. She simply smiled and walked over to where Garrett was holding a rifle for  
her to examine.  
  
Hobbes got a hold of himself and watched as she carefully checked out the rifle and its action. She  
slung it over her shoulder as if carrying around a high powered rifle was nothing new. She never  
ceased to amaze him. She was catching on a lot faster than Fawkes ever had. Garrett handed her a  
box of shells which she put in an exterior pocket of her pack.  
  
"You guys ready to hit the road? We got work to do," Alyx said heading for the door rifle slung  
over one shoulder, pack over the other.  
  
"Hold your horses kid, we're coming." Bobby checked his gun and tossed his jacket on. "C'mon  
Fawkes, we got miles to make."  
  
Following Hobbes out the door, Darien muttered to himself about everyone else getting a weapon and  
him being left out again. He watched as Garrett climbed into his jeep, checked few things, and then  
started it up. Alyx tossed her pack and the rifle onto the front seat of the Humvee and walked over  
to Garrett to talk with him for a moment. Whatever he said had her nodding. She pointed off to the  
east and Garrett nodded this time. She came back to the Humvee carrying a radio and climbed in  
behind the driver's seat. As she started the engine Darien climbed in back next to Hobbes. Within  
moments they were moving, following Garrett in his jeep.  
  
The ride swiftly got bumpy as they weren't following an actual road. Thankfully it wasn't more than  
an hour. They stopped in an area that had seen a lot of vehicles recently. It was also completely  
burned out. Alyx sat for a moment, tightly holding the steering wheel as the scent of smoke invaded  
her senses, bringing images and memories better left buried.  
  
With a muttered curse she forced herself out of the vehicle and to the edge of the burned area. It  
was so recent that the slightest breeze would stir the ashes into movement. The place caused Alyx  
to ache. The wound to the land was still raw and the remains of plants still broadcast their  
discomfort to anything receptive. She increased her shields, trying to block out the pain, and  
sighed when it reduced to a bearable level. Garrett watched in amazement as she walked to the spot  
where the remains of the incendiary device had been found. The accelerant they had used had a very  
distinctive odor and as far as his nose could tell it had finally faded from the area.  
  
Not to Alyx though. She could smell it, sharp, acrid, and unusual. Not a scent she would easily  
forget. There wasn't much else to smell. Old smoke, the accelerant, people, animals, living plants  
and flowers, and dust. Other than the dust, which she thought was a bit odd, none of the scents  
were exceptionally helpful. She walked along the edge of the burn zone until she caught the scent  
of something new and found the remains of a mule deer. It must have been caught in the initial  
explosion, since the body still had the scent of the accelerant on it.  
  
Part of her noticed and filed away that information, but the rest of her froze. Her mind no longer  
saw the burned animal carcass as she was overwhelmed by images that she had tried to keep buried in  
the back of her mind for years. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't see or hear what was  
going on about her anymore.  
  
Darien was the first to realize something was wrong with Alyx. The sharp intake of breath and then  
the lack of movement that were not typical for her. He was cautious about touching her, knowing she  
could react violently without meaning to. Hobbes and Garrett had also figured out something was  
wrong and moved to help as well, but Darien waved them back. No need to get all of them injured.  
  
"Alyx," he called from a few feet away. When she failed to respond he moved closer and laid a hand  
on her shoulder. "Alyx." This time louder.  
  
She turned to him her face bloodless. "Darien, get me out of here." She managed in a small voice  
staggering back from the carcass on the ground.  
  
"Yeah. That looks like a good idea." He steered her back to the Humvee and got her seated in the  
back seat, a bottle of water in her hand. Slowly, the color came back into her face.  
  
When she found her voice she said. "Sorry about that. Panic attack. You're lucky I didn't run."  
  
All three men were standing about her looking concerned. It was obvious what had set her off, but  
none of them knew why. Panic attacks were not something Alyx was known for. Heck, next to Bobby she  
had the coolest head of the bunch and was usually capable of making intelligent, well-reasoned  
decisions even under heavy gun fire. Why would a dead deer give her a case of the willies?  
  
"You going to tell us or do we have to pry it from you?" Hobbes said.  
  
"Bobby I can't talk about it." When it was obvious he was not going to accept that as an answer  
she added, "I can't. I'll just go into another one. This has happened before. Medication helps, but  
the fat man won't let me have any." She drank about half the bottle, her stomach having finally  
decided to settle. "I'll be okay." She knew they didn't believe that statement any more than she  
did. "I'll deal, okay?"  
  
"Well, you sound more like yourself anyway," Garrett said, giving her a smile.  
  
"Like you would know," Darien all but snapped at the man. He knew he was being a bull-headed idiot,  
but what could this guy learn in one night that would let him think he came even close to  
understanding Alyx? He and Hobbes had been working with her for months now, and even though they  
had worked out a decent partnership, he didn't for a moment think he understood her at all. Maybe  
in small things. The three of them had a pretty good idea how the others would react in a given  
situation. This guy, this Garrett, was just throwing everything askew, at least as far as Darien  
was concerned.  
  
Hobbes' reaction was to wonder why Fawkes was suddenly so protective of the kid. It wasn't like  
they had anything but a working relationship. Alyx had kept them all at a bit of a distance.  
Friendship and real trust were just beginning to build between them. He and Darien had resolved  
most of their issues months before she had shown up. His biggest problem had been the fact that she  
looked like a sixteen year old, but a couple of months and some real nasty missions had him  
convinced that she was anything but sixteen. He was pretty sure Fawkes was attracted to her, but  
she had kept him at arms length. Maybe that was the problem. Since Garrett was an outsider, perhaps  
the kid was attracted to him. He knew for a fact Garrett was curious about her after the not so  
subtle questioning he'd been given yesterday evening. Good thing Darien hadn't heard any of that.  
  
Alyx was not in the mood for attitude like this from Darien. She had a really good idea what the  
jerk was thinking and although she found it kind of sweet, now was not the time. Putting a hand on  
Darien's chest she pushed him back as she stood up. "Max have you got an area map with you?"  
  
She was still watching at Darien. Her look warned of untold pain if he said one more thing.  
  
"Yeah. I'll get it," Garrett said, going to his jeep. Kind of glad to be out of the line of fire.  
He wasn't sure what was going on between the two of them and didn't really care so long as they  
were able to work together.  
  
Alyx's gaze at Darien softened for a moment and then she moved off to the front of the Humvee where  
she met Garrett and helped him unroll the map. She looked it over and then said, "We're here, right?"  
  
"Yes," Garrett agreed impressed that she was so quick to pinpoint their location.  
  
"The recent fires have been where?" Alyx asked him.  
  
Darien and Hobbes joined them at the hood of the vehicle watching as Garrett marked out the related  
fire zones on the map. Giving them a rough outline of the actual burned areas.  
  
Alyx looked up at Bobby. "Do you see it? Or is it just my imagination?"  
  
"I see it kid, but where are they going next?" Hobbes asked. He hated to guess on something like  
this, but she had an uncanny ability to somehow know the right place to be on very limited  
information. She couldn't even explain how she did it, but he was willing to take advantage of her  
ability if it concluded the mission successfully.  
  
Alyx looked over the map a few minutes longer and then pointed to an area north and a bit east of  
where they were. "Can we make this station by nightfall?" Alyx asked Garrett.  
  
"Station Fifteen? Yeah, just. It one of the more remote stations. Why there?" Garrett sounded  
bemused.  
  
"If that's where she says we need to be, that's where we go," Hobbes said, ending any potential  
arguments with the Ranger.  
  
"All right," he agreed, slightly taken aback by Bobby's conviction. Of the two men, Garrett  
expected the more experienced Hobbes to have the least trust in Alyx's abilities, given her  
apparent age. Instead it seemed to be Fawkes who questioned her every move. Odd. As he rolled the  
map, Alyx asked him a question.  
  
"What's the latest on the Santa Ana?"  
  
"By dawn, and nasty," Garrett answered. "If you want to make Fifteen, we need to move. Some of the  
route can't be done after dark."  
  
"We'll be right behind you," Alyx said, moving to get into the Humvee. Darien and Hobbes moved as  
well, Hobbes climbing into the back and Darien into the front after handing the rifle back to  
Bobby, who secured it in the cargo area. She started the engine and got the beast moving, following  
the dust and ash being kicked up by Garrett's jeep.  
  
Alyx waited a few minutes and then said to Darien, "What is your problem?"  
  
Darien tried to look innocent, but he'd lost the ability to do that years ago. "What do you mean?"  
  
"She means why do you keep butting heads with Garrett?" Hobbes answered for her.  
  
Darien slumped in his seat feeling like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Guilty and  
justified at the same time. Guilty because he got caught. Justified because what else is the point  
of cookies if not to eat them. It's not like he'd done anything that bad had he? He just wanted to  
be sure Garrett understood his place He was an outsider assisting them on this case. Not a  
permanent member, not someone who would be going back to San Diego with Alyx, not someone who would  
be near her almost daily, not... He let his thoughts run down. Crap. "I've been a ..."  
  
"Jerk." From Alyx.  
  
"Idiot." From Hobbes.  
  
"A jealous twit." Also from Alyx.  
  
"Jealous! Of what?" Darien said sounding defensive.  
  
Alyx decided to go easy on him this time. "Just tone down the big brother act would you? You're my  
partner, not my brother, and last time I checked I was an adult."  
  
"I haven't been that bad," Darien complained. Being referred to as a 'big brother' did not improve  
his mood in the least. Brotherly was not how he felt about her.  
  
"Yes you have, my friend. You'd think you were dating the kid or something and not just working  
with her," Hobbes said slapping his partner on the back.  
  
Darien rolled his eyes. It wasn't like he hadn't been trying to do exactly that, but she still  
claimed that she would not and could not do that. Personally, he didn't care about the Official's  
involvement anymore. He was much happier now that they had met, and would be happier still if she  
would just admit it as well.  
  
Alyx swallowed a smile. She wanted to make a comment so badly it hurt. She ended up giggling as  
quietly as she could for a moment until she got herself back under control.  
  
"Now that we have that settled, think we can get this job over with? I would much rather be home  
getting quite sloshed," Alyx said.  
  
"Let's catch us some baddies and get the heck out of here, partners," Hobbes said, settling back in  
the seat and relaxing while Alyx drove.  
  
The drive was long, not because of the distance involved, but because of the terrain. It was some  
of the roughest ground in the area. There were also actual trees, which meant they had to detour on  
occasion because the Humvee was too wide for the pathway. The one really nasty part was when they  
had to traverse a ravine. There was a bridge across it, but it was designed for hikers and the park  
jeeps and was not really wide enough for the Humvee. Alyx ordered the guys out while she faked her  
way across. With a little mental support and about half of each tire on the edges of the bridge,  
which thankfully had no railings, Alyx got the thing across.  
  
Garrett was impressed. Okay, so he was completely astonished at both her temerity and the fact that  
she had actually succeeded.  
  
Now, if he could just get her over-protective partner to lighten up a bit, he might get somewhere  
with her. He knew that they were here to stop the arsonist, but he had discovered over the years  
that you could learn a lot more about someone in two days under pressure than a month of cautious  
dates. Under pressure you got to see what the person was really made of. No illusions, no  
pretenses, no putting on one's best face to make an impression that later turns out to be nothing  
but an act.  
  
Last night had been a bit odd. What with her screaming and destroying the mug and all. The rest of  
the night had been nice. She was intelligent and funny and awfully cute. That red hair, those  
silver eyes. Gray he had seen before, but never silver. It was a devastating combination. She could  
be forgiven the panic attack. When he thought of her smiling at him, he sighed. He wondered if he  
was falling for this woman after only one day.  
  
They arrived at Station Fifteen a few minutes later than Garrett had guessed, but considering  
everything they had made good time. He introduced the three agents to the Ranger on duty at the  
station, who greeted them all with a bit of wariness. Ranger Alisha Patterson led them into the  
building, where they were met by the scent of tomato sauce and garlic. She had prepared a meal for  
the lot of them, much to their appreciation. After freshening up they all sat around where they  
could fit and dug in. Alyx finished her plate and cleaned up after herself, then headed up to the  
top of the tower.  
  
Garrett joined her about half an hour later and offered her a cup of coffee. "Are we going to  
destroy this cup?" he asked with a smile as he handed it to her.  
  
"Nope, not this time," she said as she took it from him, then looked back out over the park. She  
sipped at the coffee, listening in the darkness. "Do you hear them?"  
  
Garrett came to stand next to her. "Hear what?"  
  
"At least four ATV's buzzing around out there." She turned to look at him.  
  
"You must have incredible hearing," he said after a moment. "I can't hear a thing."  
  
"Close your eyes and really listen," Alyx said to him. He gave her a bit of an odd look and then  
complied. She laid a hand on his and let him hear what she was hearing. It was faint and coming  
from several different areas east of them, but there. The sounds had changed a bit and there were  
now six distinctive motors. Garrett was surprised for a moment and then simply listened, tipping  
his head to focus in on the sounds.  
  
Alyx released him after a moment and said, "Not yours I take it."  
  
He opened his eyes. "No. Not ours. Damn. There's no way to catch them out there. Excuse me for a  
moment." He went inside to use the radio and put out a warning to the entire park to be on alert  
tonight. When he came back out to her he looked unhappy. "I wish we could do more."  
  
"We can. Come on," Alyx said heading for the stairway.  
  
"Wait, Alyx. What are you talking about?" Garrett said following her.  
  
"We can still catch them, I think," she said not pausing in her headlong rush down the stairs. She  
rushed into the cabin to find Darien dozing in a chair and Bobby chatting up the female ranger  
while they finished up the dishes. Giving Darien a gentle shove she said, "Let's move it boys. We  
got visitors in the park."  
  
Garrett and Patterson fell into a hurried conversation as Darien yawned and unfolded himself from  
the chair.  
  
"What's up kid?" Bobby said to her.  
  
"ATV's buzzing about east of here," Alyx said packing up stuff.  
  
"And you got a hunch," he said,  
  
Alyx nodded.  
  
Garrett joined them with a couple of thermoses filled with coffee. "We ready?"  
  
"As we ever are," Darien commented.  
  
Everyone piled into the Humvee and Alyx got behind the steering wheel. Alyx started the engine and  
headed off towards the east. It was nearing midnight when she turned off the vehicle's headlights,  
much to Garrett's annoyance. "You'll never see where you're going."  
  
"I can see just fine. I don't need them to know we're here any sooner than necessary," Alyx said.  
  
"She knows what she's doing Garrett," Darien said.  
  
Alyx parked on the top of a hill over looking a clearing. There was just enough brush and trees to  
pretty much hide the Humvee and give them a bit of cover. Alyx got out and got the rifle Garrett  
had loaned her out of the back. She used the scope to check out the clearing below them finding  
evidence of an old camp and the tracks of several ATV's. Garrett came up next to her using his  
binoculars and saw all that she did.  
  
"How did you know?" he asked, handing the binoculars to Hobbes.  
  
"I guessed, sort of. All the ATV's came from the same spot. I just guesstimated where from," she  
said shrugging. "Got lucky that we actually found it."  
  
"What now?" Darien asked.  
  
"We wait. They left gear here. They'll be back for it. We catch them then," Hobbes answered.  
  
"How do we know it's them?" Garrett asked.  
  
"I can smell the accelerant," Alyx said quietly. She lowered the rifle and rubbed her eyes. "I'm  
going to catch a nap. We've got a couple hours before they get back I think."  
  
"You sure, kid?" Hobbes asked her.  
  
"No, that's why I'm going to catch a nap while I can," she said with a smile. "I'm not prescient  
Bobby. I don't know what's going to happen next any more than you do."  
  
"I know what's going to happen. We're gonna catch the bad guys and go home," Hobbes said, watching  
her walk to the vehicle and climb up on the hood to lay back against the windshield.  
  
"Of course, Bobby. We always do," Alyx said through a yawn. "Wake me in two if they haven't shown."  
  
"Gotcha," Hobbes said.  
  
Alyx was out within moments, the rifle across her lap and her arms crossed at her chest.  
  
All three men watched her for a moment in amazement. "Well, guess I trained her well," Hobbes said.  
  
"You?" Darien said with a laugh. "She's just exhausted, as usual."  
  
Garrett noticed that Darien was a bit more relaxed around him now. Not nearly as aggressively  
protective of her. "So, what shall we do while we wait?"  
  
"You will stay here. Fawkes and I are going to check out their camp." Hobbes handed the binoculars  
back to Garrett.  
  
"You?" Garrett said.  
  
"You watch the kid. We'll be back in a bit," Hobbes said motioning to Darien who followed him off  
into the brush circling around to come at the camp from the cover of some trees.  
  
Garrett checked on Alyx, who was still sleeping peacefully for the moment, then turned back to  
watch the camp for signs of life. He listened for the distinctive sound of the ATV's the arsonists  
were using to get around the park. Occasionally through the brush he could see the light of Hobbes  
flash, but not much else. The moon had set hours ago leaving the night pitch dark. For now he could  
only wait and watch.  
  
Darien cursed as he tripped on yet another mysterious object in the dark. Deciding any sight was  
better than stumbling about lost, he quicksilvered his eyes to give himself an odd sort of night  
vision. At least now he could see the tree roots and holes he'd been finding every couple of steps  
and avoid most of them. Hobbes was able to move noiselessly through the brush with only the aid of  
a shielded flash. Once again he was proving that his experience was not all in his head, that he  
actually did know what he was doing. A few more minutes and they were in the makeshift camp  
checking out what was there.  
  
"Well, these guys are neat, anyway," Hobbes commented when Darien came up beside him.  
  
There were a couple of coolers filled with, surprisingly enough, soda rather than beer. There were  
also some sandwiches and other snacks. Nearby were some empty boxes and the remains of a small  
fire. Not much of anything. Checking out the visible footprints and tire tracks, Hobbes figured six  
guys with the same number of vehicles.  
  
"Anything?" Darien asked him.  
  
"Six guys who know what they're doing," Hobbes said, looking around the area again. Where they were  
parked appeared to be the best place to wait for them to come back for their stuff. "C'mon Fawkes,  
lets see if you can get back up the hill quietly."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Give me a break. I'm used to being quiet indoors. This baffles me," Darien said  
cheekily.  
  
"I forgot you can only be sneaky when stealing something," was Hobbes' comeback. Darien did notice  
he was smiling. Ribbing each other had become a tactic to reduce tension when they knew the  
situation was going to get tight. They both had the feeling this one was not going to be as easy as  
any of them would like.  
  
  
  
Up at the top of the hill Alyx was enjoying another nightmare while she slept. It started as the  
same old dream she always had. The one she had begun having a couple of weeks before her parents  
had come to visit her at college the first time. At first she had blown it off as simple fear at  
being away from home for the first time and being so much younger than the rest of the people here.  
Her roommate was the complete opposite of her and four years older as well. Alyx hadn't had a good  
nights sleep for a week when she called her parents to tell them not to come. When she told them  
why they had insisted it was nothing. Just a dream. If only she had made them listen, if only she  
had been able to make them believe, if only.  
  
As the dream headed towards its inevitable conclusion, it combined, as always, with the reality  
that had occurred. Of her driving back to campus after running a few errands, to find her parents'  
car wrecked. Another car smashed into them. Fire crews hosing down the vehicles, unable to put out  
the flames for some never-discovered reason. She had rushed to the vehicle, past the firemen who  
tried to stop her, to try to rescue her parents who still sat within. Just like she had dreamt, was  
still dreaming. This time the dream changed. She saw her parents still sitting in the front seat of  
their car. Their bodies frozen in a rictus of pain and terror. Their skin turning black and  
bursting in the heat. The smell of gasoline and her parents roasting flesh. Of her screaming in  
despair and trying to pull open the door to the burning car and failing. The feel of the water  
pouring over her as the firemen tried to keep her from being killed as well.  
  
The images of her parents morphed as she felt the arms of a fireman wrap about her and pull her  
away. The burning car became a man who was essentially a pillar of flame. She recognized it as  
Garrett. She tried to force herself to wake up, not wanting to see this again. Not wanting to  
experience his death, smell his burning flesh. Smell the accelerant that was on his clothes  
preventing her from putting out the flames. His screams of pain, and his feeling of terror and  
despair washed over her and she tried to escape them.  
  
Garrett wasn't sure when he realized something was wrong with Alyx. She was, to all appearances,  
still sleeping peacefully, but somehow he knew something was wrong. He walked over to her and lay a  
hand on her arm. Not to wake her, but perhaps just to reassure her that someone was still there,  
that everything was all right and still safe. What he got was a yelp of terror and a terrified  
woman falling into his arms in reaction to whatever had been going on in her mind. The rifle fell  
to the ground unheeded as he found himself with an armful of shaking woman, who was still not fully  
awake.  
  
"Alyx. What's the matter?" he said, running his hands down her back.  
  
"Gods, Garrett, you're alive," she said her face buried against his chest.  
  
"Of course I'm alive," he said into her hair, feeling more than a bit confused.  
  
That, of course, is when Darien and Bobby came back from their little scouting mission. Both  
stopped dead to stare at Alyx wrapped in the arms of Garrett, who was obviously enjoying the  
situation.  
  
"I thought you were going to catch a nap," Darien said with only a small amount of sarcasm.  
  
Garrett's head snapped up to look at the partners who were both glaring at him. "She had a  
nightmare," he said to them. "At a guess, a rather nasty one." He released her as she stepped back  
a bit from him and turned to look at the two men. The expression on her face spoke volumes. The  
nightmare had been beyond nasty as far as she was concerned. It had been a living hell. The old  
nightmare had been bad enough, but this new and improved version was so much worse. The man in  
front of her was going to die a horrible death and there was nothing that she could do about it.  
  
"Smartass," she said to Darien in response to his sarcastic comment.  
  
"You could have told us, kid," Hobbes said to her.  
  
"No, Bobby I couldn't," Alyx said stepping a bit further from Garrett.  
  
Darien went back to the overprotective brother act trying to intimidate the slightly shorter man by  
looming over him. "Doesn't explain why he was holding you?"  
  
"Fawkes, back off," Hobbes said to him as he stepped in between the two men.  
  
Alyx stepped to one side as an argument ensued between Darien and Garrett while Hobbes tried to get  
both men to back down.  
  
Alyx walked over to where she could see the camp below and waved her hand at the men and told them  
to shush. They didn't hear her at all. She tried again louder this time only to still be ignored.  
The sound she thought she was hearing was so faint she couldn't be sure over the noise of the men  
behind her. Walking back over to them she slapped a hand over both Darien and Garrett's mouths and  
said in a loud whisper, "SHUT UP!"  
  
Both men stared at her over her hand angrily, even though she was the one they were arguing over.  
It took a moment, but now she could indeed hear motors and they were heading back towards their  
location. Alyx dropped her hands, grabbed the rifle and walked back to the overlook. It was only a  
few moments before the sound became audible to the other men and they joined her watching the  
clearing below for them to arrive.  
  
"Don't you two think you should move a bit closer to the action?" Hobbes said.  
  
"Didn't I just walk up that hill?" Darien said in mock complaint.  
  
"Find a good place to hide, both of you," Garrett said, much to their amusement.  
  
"Don't worry. They'll never see us coming," Darien said leading the way back down the hill.  
  
Alyx stifled a laugh, following her partner. Once out of sight of Garrett, Darien quicksilvered his  
eyes again and led the way to the back side of the encampment. To say he had mixed feelings about  
seeing Alyx in another man's arms was a mild description. If he were to go quicksilver mad right  
now, Garrett would be his first choice to abuse while out of his right mind. Of course, Alyx would  
then probably hurt him very badly, but it might be worth it. Even the explanation that Alyx had  
been having a nightmare hadn't satisfied his sudden overriding jealousy. Why was it she turned to a  
near complete stranger for comfort and not him? Never mind the fact he hadn't arrived until after it  
was all over.  
  
"Alyx," he said his voice stiff.  
  
"What?" she said moving up next to him.  
  
"What's going on between you and Garrett?" Darien asked.  
  
"Excuse me?" Alyx sounded both astonished and offended.  
  
Darien cleared his throat. "You two seemed awfully cozy up there."  
  
Alyx grabbed his shirt by the neck and twisted it drawing him down to her eye level. "I'll say this  
once. It's none of your business." She released him to stand upright. "Think you can keep your mind  
on the work at hand or do I send you back up the hill to Hobbes?"  
  
It wasn't difficult for Darien to figure out that she was pissed off at him. She was right, at  
least to a degree, that it was none of his business. But he wanted it to be, and that was the  
problem. Alyx still didn't have a whole lot of trust for her two partners except in work situations  
and he was doing quite a good job of mucking that up as well. What had happened up on that hill had  
been anything but a work situation and she had gone running to the first set of arms that were  
available. It had left him feeling just a bit angry.  
  
"Well?" she growled at him.  
  
"If you say it's none of my business then I guess it is," Darien answered. "Let's get this over  
with so we can get out of here. I never was really fond of the woods anyway." He moved away from  
her, taking up position part way around the camp from her where the cover was still reasonable. He  
would have to wait until the last possible moment to quicksilver.  
  
The sound of the ATV's was obvious even to him now and he shifted a bit to make sure he wouldn't be  
discovered. At least not right away. The group of men were finally returning to camp, after doing  
whatever it was arsonists do at night in the woods. Nothing good, he was sure. Within minutes,  
three ATV's pulled into the clearing from the north. He managed not to flinch as the headlights  
washed over his position. The men dismounted and, after exchanging a few pats on the back, began  
packing up the camp.  
  
Darien wasn't sure where Alyx was. For all he knew she had quicksilvered and could be sitting in  
the center of the camp waiting for them to trip over her. He wouldn't put it past her. She had a  
way of being blatantly sneaky that never ceased to surprise him. As he waited and watched, three  
more ATV's roared into camp, kicking up dust in the night air. One of the driver's began to shout  
orders as soon as his engine was off. Reaching behind him, he picked up something from the cargo  
carrier rigged on the rear of the vehicle. He carried this to the back edge of the clearing while  
the others continued the packing.  
  
Alyx had watched all this from a tree branch that overhung the clearing. It placed her off to the  
side of where the one man was playing with the bomb he'd brought with him. She had lucked out and  
was sitting almost directly over two of the men who had come over after loading their ATV's. She  
had recognized the incendiary device for what it was immediately just by the smell. She'd be  
smelling that damn accelerant in her mind for weeks after this. She touched it gently with her mind  
as he set the timer, just to get a feel for the thing. Finished, he stepped back from it, boasting  
about their successful night.  
  
"That's not exactly nice, now is it?" she asked from above them.  
  
All the men went instantly alert, guns magically appearing from seemingly nowhere.  
  
Darien swore under his breath and quicksilvered. He was going to have to teach her subtlety. She  
had this bad habit of giving the bad guys a fair chance, something they didn't deserve. He moved as  
quietly as he could to the edge of the clearing and prepared to back up whatever move she decided to  
make.  
  
On the hillside both Hobbes and Garrett saw the men in the clearing suddenly go on the defensive.  
Hobbes knew one or both of his partners had done something to get their attention. They had moved  
into a classic position with their backs to each other in a circle looking out into the dark  
clearing trying to find whatever it was that had spooked them. Using the rifle Alyx had left for  
him, he carefully aimed and took out one of them with a shot to the arm. They were supposed to  
capture if at all possible, so a disabling shot was the best choice. His timing couldn't have been  
better.  
  
At the sound of the shot both Darien and Alyx moved. Alyx swung down from the branch using the  
momentum to knock two more of them to the ground. Still invisible, she went after a third with a  
straight out punch to the gut causing him to double over and empty the contents of his stomach onto  
the ground. Ignoring his reaction, Alyx spun to find her next target. Darien charged across the few  
feet to knock the one nearest him to the ground with a quite effective shoulder to the ribs.  
Searching for another target, he saw Alyx dropping her third and turn to face him.  
  
"Drop!" she shouted. He did, just as he heard the gun go off almost in his ear, the whine of its  
passing so close it was audible. He saw the bullet impact a nearby tree at a right angle to its  
original course. With a growl, Alyx ripped the gun from the shooter's hand with her mind and went  
after him. Darien got to him first. The guy was practically on top of him so Darien rolled onto his  
back and kicked him in the crotch. A low blow maybe, but the guy had nearly shot him. He had it  
coming. That left one. The leader. Alyx desilvered and went after him.  
  
"Spawn of Satan," he hissed when he saw her appear before him.  
  
Darien walked up behind him and said, practically into his ear, "If you only knew."  
  
The man spun, bringing up the gun which Alyx casually pulled from his hand with her mind. "Down,"  
she said pointing the gun at him.  
  
"I would if I were you," Darien said, shedding quicksilver. "She's in a bad mood tonight."  
  
Stunned at having Darien appear beside him, he dropped to his knees and put his hands on the back  
of his head.  
  
Hobbes and Garrett arrived in the Humvee with a cheery, "The calvary, on time yet again."  
  
"Yeah, after the fight is over," Alyx said dryly. "Don't suppose you have cuffs for six, do ya?"  
  
"Hey, you two are the super-heroes, not me," he replied, tossing the one set of cuffs he had to  
her. She put them on the man in front of her, making sure they were good and tight.  
  
"Bobby, how many times do I have to say, 'I am not a super hero. I was not created.'" Darien  
started to get the other men over with the first. A nice tight little group to guard.  
  
Alyx rummaged through the back of the Humvee and came up with a roll of duct tape, which she tossed  
to Darien. He stared at it for a moment then smiled and began to tape hands together. "Hey, I was  
created," Alyx noted. "Does that mean I get to be a super-hero?"  
  
"Why would you want to? It doesn't pay nearly well enough," Darien commented as he taped up another  
one.  
  
"And this job does?" Alyx joked as she moved over to the bomb. After a going over it with her mind  
to check for booby traps, she turned off the timer and dismantled it. Simple, effective, and quite  
stable by some miracle.  
  
"Is it safe?" Garrett asked her from a few feet away.  
  
"As safe as it can be without a bomb squad," Alyx answered putting it in her pack.  
  
The leader of the group was screaming at Bobby. "Who are you to interfere with the Messengers of  
God?" The last bit sounded like a title or group name.  
  
"Federal agents. By the way, you are under arrest for arson and attempted arson," Hobbes said.  
  
"You think you've won. We haven't failed. The others will insure this place feels the fires of  
God's wrath. This place and all those west of here. All will be put to the fire. Only those who bow  
down before God will survive," the man said with conviction, smiling. He seemed far too pleased to  
be lying.  
  
Alyx spun him around to face her. "How many? Where?"  
  
He looked up at her and sneered. "I don't speak to women. They are beneath me."  
  
She crouched down before him. "This is your warning. How many and where?"  
  
He spat at her intending to hit her in the face. Instead it was deflected to land at his own feet.  
  
"Answer her," Bobby shouted at the man shoving him backwards with the gun leaving the man sprawled  
on the ground glaring up at the two of them.  
  
"Don't bother Bobby. I can get the information," Alyx said standing. She slid into the man's mind  
and repeated her question out loud. This time, even though he refused to speak, she saw, felt,  
heard, knew everything that had to do with her question, and what she got terrified her. As she  
pulled back, he figured out what she was doing.  
  
"Witch! Stay out of my mind," he yelled at her.  
  
"Gladly," she snarled. "It was disgusting in there."  
  
He was so utterly taken aback by her statement he could not reply.  
  
Grabbing her pack, she ran for the nearest ATV. "Garrett, get them back to the station and warn  
everyone. They planted six other bombs." She started the engine with a roar and got the thing  
turned about. "Bobby..."  
  
"Don't worry kid. We got it handled," he shouted over the roar of the engine.  
  
She nodded and hit the accelerator, but not before someone had jumped on behind her. Holding her  
tightly about the waist was Garrett. She didn't dare slow; she would barely have enough time as it  
was.  
  
The leader of the group laughed. "They'll never make it. There's no way they can stop all of them.  
The purifying fire of God is coming and nothing you can do will stop it."  
  
Darien didn't say a word, just walked up to him and punched him in the face hard enough to knock  
him out cold and bloody his nose. Bobby didn't say a word in reprimand, just pointed the rifle at  
the others and ordered them over to the Humvee. They had a park to warn.  
  
*****  



	3. A Glimpse Into Hell

  
  
Alyx pushed the vehicle as fast as it would go. Behind her Garrett swallowed hard and closed his  
eyes, thinking she was nuts. It was pitch dark with rough terrain and she was driving like it was  
blacktop with no one else in sight. At first the ride was violent, tossing them back and forth on  
the seat, then suddenly it smoothed and he felt brave enough to open his eyes. He almost regretted  
it. He was quite sure they were going far faster than the ATV was ever designed to. As it happened,  
he was right.  
  
Alyx was pushing the engine far past its design and was holding it together with her mind. She was  
also smoothing out the ride so that they wouldn't get thrown from the seat. At this point she'd  
rather Garrett got stuck with hours of high level debriefing than to let the bombs go off. If she  
had to show him every trick she was capable of and invent some more to stop this she would. "Why  
are you here, Garrett?" she shouted over the noise of the motor and passing wind. "It's too  
dangerous."  
  
"Why are you going?" he shouted back.  
  
"'Cause I have to try," she said.  
  
"And I have to help."  
  
What could she say to that? She pushed the vehicle all the harder, hoping that they would be in  
time.  
  
  
Darien and Bobby got all six men into the Humvee and slowly retraced the route to Station Fifteen.  
Luckily the trail they had made was quite visible, but neither of them had the night vision Alyx  
had so it was going to take a bit longer than either liked. After being forced to tape a few mouths  
shut, including the leader's once he had come to, Hobbes tried to radio the station to get the  
warning out as soon a possible. When he finally got through, he also had Ranger Patterson place a  
call to the Agency for transport the hell out of there. By the time they arrived at the station  
they were told that back-up was on the way and would meet them at the Visitor's Building. She  
handed them a map to get them there. The route they'd used the previous day had been direct from  
Three to Fifteen cross-country. The map she gave marked out a route using the park's roads. Using  
the term road very loosely, that is. It would be dawn or even later before they arrived.  
  
They gave Ranger Patterson a hand packing her personal items into her jeep. She was under orders to  
get the hell out of there. If the bombs did go off, this station was so remote that rescuing her  
would be difficult, so they had her evacuate.  
  
Once they had her stuff loaded, Darien turned to his partner. "Hobbes, I want to go back."  
  
"Are you nuts? It's probably too late already. We have to get out of here," Hobbes said.  
  
"She's our partner. We can't just leave her," Darien argued.  
  
"Garrett's with her, right?" Patterson asked.  
  
"Yeah," Hobbes answered before Darien had a chance to.  
  
"Then she's with the best possible person. He knows this park like no one else. He'll get them  
out," Patterson said trying to reassure both men.  
  
"But..." Darien began.  
  
"Partner, we have a responsibility to get these men turned over to the authorities. No matter how  
much I'd like to see them burn in their own fires." He glared a the men as they sat on the ground  
next to the Humvee. "Alyx can take care of herself. She doesn't need you running into danger out of  
some macho need to protect her."  
  
Darien didn't want to hear this. "But..." He tried again.  
  
"Your partner is right, Agent Fawkes, and the longer we stay here, the less chance there is that  
we'll get out. We need to leave now," Ranger Patterson said.  
  
Darien sighed and nodded. They were right and he knew it. That didn't mean he had to like it, or  
that his emotions weren't telling him to do the complete opposite.  
  
The three of them got the men back into the Humvee and, after a quick radio check, they got the  
hell out of there. They reached the Visitor's Center an hour after dawn. By then it was too late  
for anyone to do anything but try to survive.  
  
  
  
Alyx slewed the ATV to a stop, its engine smoking she had pushed it so hard. Pulling out of  
Garrett's hold, she ran over to where she could sense the electronics of the device. Garrett had  
followed her and was standing just a few feet away. The bomb was designed to spray the burning  
accelerant in an arc in one direction and Garrett was in the pathway of the spray.  
  
Alyx had no time to stop it. As she tried to insert her mind into the timer to deactivate it, it  
reached zero and went off. She screamed and hoped for a miracle. Falling backwards away from the  
device she reached out with her mind to stop the gel like accelerant from going anywhere. At a yelp  
of surprise from Garrett she sat up and looked. She had received her miracle. All around the area  
were flaming bits of accelerant hanging in the air, including an impressive display hanging only  
inches from Garrett's chest.  
  
"Back away slowly," she said to him. "And watch that you don't bump any of them."  
  
Garrett, his eyes rather large, nodded sharply and backed away cautiously from the flaming torch  
hanging in the air before him. He made his way over to Alyx while she tried to figure out what to  
do with the stuff before she was no longer able to hold it. She was already feeling the strain of  
trying to hold dozens of flaming balls in the air.  
  
"How are you doing that?" Garrett asked in an astonished whisper.  
  
"Later," she managed.  
  
She tried snuffing one by with drawing off the oxygen around it, but that didn't work. Apparently  
the accelerant itself contained or gave off enough oxygen to keep itself burning until it was  
completely used up. Standing, she walked over to one and, after quicksilvering her hand, tried  
reducing the temperature of the gel. It worked, but took far longer to do than she had hoped. She  
ended up with a lump of frozen gel that she dropped to the ground, thankful she no longer had to  
hold it with her mind. She made her way around the area, snuffing them one by one. Some of the  
smaller globules burned out before she got to them. Some fell to the ground still burning as she  
grew tired trying to do too many things at once. She would rush to those and get them out as fast  
as she could.  
  
Garrett watched in amazement at what she was doing, not understanding most of it. The one thing he  
did understand was that she had saved his life. If that accelerant had landed on him he would have  
been engulfed in flames in moments, and even if she had managed to put them out, the burns would  
have been more than enough to kill him. About half-way through putting out the balls of flame about  
them, he noticed she was crying. Not loudly, not allowing it to distract her from what she was  
doing, but the tears flowed freely down her face. By the time she was finished putting out the  
fires, she was exhausted and folded to the ground. He rushed to her side to see if she was all  
right.  
  
"Too late," she said to him. "It's too late."  
  
At first he wasn't sure what she was talking about then he felt it, the first breezes becoming  
stronger moment by moment. The Santa Ana winds had arrived and somewhere out in the darkness five  
other bombs had gone off, starting fires in a land parched from a year-long drought.  
  
And they were on the wrong side of it. They would have to go through the fire in order to reach  
safety, if any safety existed in what was coming.  
  
Garrett helped Alyx to her feet. She was so tired her senses were swimming, but she knew they  
didn't dare stay here. Already the tang of smoke was in the air, being blown by the swiftly  
increasing wind. Going over to the ATV, she tried starting it and got a unenthusiastic cough from  
the engine, which promptly died.  
  
Kicking the tire with what little energy she had, she asked, "What's west of here?"  
  
"Wilderness for way too many miles," Garrett answered, having already considered that option. "We  
are not going to be high priority. All the resources are going to be put toward putting out the  
fires." He ran his hand through his hair. "We'll have to make our own way out."  
  
After a moments creative cursing in three languages Alyx said, "Okay, do we go for the other ATV's  
or to the station and your jeep?"  
  
Garrett thought for a minute. "The ATV's won't have enough gas to get us to safety so we might as  
well head straight to the station and hope we beat the flames there. At the very least it has us  
going in the right direction."  
  
"I know I don't want to hear the answer, but how far till we hit someplace safe," Alyx asked.  
  
"You mean to reach a rescue?" he corrected.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Too far," he answered. "We'll have to hope we come across a fire crew that can take the time to  
get us out."  
  
Alyx shook her head. "Typical. Lead the way, ranger-boy. I don't feel like barbecue today."  
  
"Ranger-boy?" he repeated, amused. He set a hand on her back to get her moving.  
  
"Would you prefer something derogatory?" she said smiling.  
  
"No. Ranger-boy is just fine," he replied.  
  
For a long time after that there wasn't much to say. They never actually reached the station; when  
they got to the top of a nearby hillside, they watched as the fire tower buckled and collapsed in  
the heat of the flames surrounding it. The wooden building was a pyre and the jeep, the vehicle  
they needed to have reasonable chance of surviving this, proceeded to explode as they watched. The  
flames raced across the grassy area around the building and towards the trees and brush beyond. The  
flames were rushing across the hillside towards them. In minutes it was as if the station had never  
existed. Nothing could be seen through the flames and smoke that the wind blew inexorably to the  
southwest.  
  
Garrett grabbed Alyx's arm and began to pull her away from the sight. They had to keep moving, had  
to try to stay ahead of the flames, had to try and survive. Alyx was frozen in place. The sight of  
the burning jeep had triggered another panic attack. Part of her was screaming for her to run, that  
she'd be the one going up in flames next if she didn't move, but she couldn't respond. She just kept  
seeing her parents in their car and feeling helpless, unable to prevent it, unable to stop it,  
unable to do anything but watch them burn.  
  
Garrett finally slapped her across the face after every other attempt to get her attention failed.  
At first she didn't react and he moved to slap her again, but quicker than he believed possible her  
hand came up and grabbed his wrist. She blinked once, twice, and then came back into focus on  
reality. He didn't argue but shifted his grip and began pulling her away towards the southwest.  
Alyx didn't fight his pull, didn't question his choice, didn't help.  
  
For the time being they appeared to be in between two different fires, but he knew they would fill  
in. He could only hope that they were ahead of the flames when they converged and not behind them.  
By the time dawn actually arrived, not that they could really tell through the pall of smoke  
filling the air, he knew they were in trouble.  
  
They paused on the top of one of the ridges and Garrett took stock of the situation. South of them  
were flames that had already moved west of their position. North of them, the flames were still a  
bit to the east but had spread southward to be nearly behind them. He was worried about Alyx. She  
was pale and covered with soot. At some point she had removed her long sleeved shirt and tied it  
about her waist. She had a few blisters from wind-borne ashes that had still been hot enough to  
burn. They both needed to rest, but couldn't really afford the time, so he split the difference and  
figured ten minutes to recharge a bit and then move again.  
  
He pulled the water bottle from her pack and handed it to her. "Alyx, drink."  
  
She managed to focus on him. "Yeah." She took the bottle and finished off half of it, then handed  
the rest to him, which he drank gladly. Shifting her pack, she dug out her cell phone and dialed.  
All she got was dead air.  
  
"We're still too far out." She nodded and put the phone away, making sure it was off first. It  
would do them no good if the battery in it died.  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
She got to her feet. "No. I'm not." She felt him put a hand on her shoulder. "If I panic again, go  
on without me."  
  
"Alyx, that won't happen," he said seriously.  
  
She laughed bitterly. "It is happening, as we speak. You have no idea what this is doing to me."  
  
"So tell me," he said, tugging gently to get her walking again.  
  
She stumbled into motion, but once moving kept going under her own momentum. She tried. She really  
tried, but the words would not come, just the memories that were as strong and vivid as the day  
they had occurred. Her pace began to slow again as she found herself once again being trapped in  
the morass of terror and despair that they inevitably pulled her into.  
  
"Alyx," Garrett shouted at her as she began to fade away yet again. This time he didn't have to  
resort to slapping her. He just touched her and she snapped out of it.  
  
"Garrett?" she said questioningly.  
  
"Max. Thought we agreed that you'd call me Max," he said, pulling her into movement again.  
  
Alyx started moving, her mind spinning in a bit of confusion. Once again she had gotten a surge of  
images from him, but they no longer included him dying in a pillar flame. Instead she saw him tired  
and singed, but alive. It made her wonder what she had done. When she stopped the flying accelerant  
earlier, had she really saved him, prevented that horrible death she had seen? Only time would tell  
if what she was seeing now was true, but right now she needed to get a grip on reality or she was  
going to be the one playing human torch.  
  
"Talk to me, Alyx," Garrett said.  
  
She took a deep breath and gave his hand a squeeze. "I'll try."  
  
They walked on in silence for a while, trying to stay at the tops of the hills as much as possible.  
The few times they had to make their way through a valley they were always shocked at the amount of  
distance the fires had chewed up by the time they could see again. They got to the top of one ridge  
and Alyx doubled over coughing, the smoke was so thick. The fire had jumped ahead of them, thanks to  
the wind and burning embers.  
  
"Rest," she panted. When she caught her breath she tried to filter the smoke out of the air around  
them. It was successful to a degree in that they got to breathe clean air, but for some reason the  
smoke built up about them creating a wall they couldn't see through within a few minutes. When she  
released the filtering effect the smoke dissipated back to its original density.  
  
"Okay, how did you do that? And how did you stop the explosion earlier?" he asked trying not to  
cough as the smoke swirled about them again. Maybe the distraction of explaining it to him would  
help to keep her moving. Focus her mind on something that was not terrifying to her. Even if he  
didn't for an instant believe it.  
  
She motioned that they keep moving and as they walked she gave him an explanation. "I'm gifted, I  
guess you'd say."  
  
"You're...what do they call it...telekinetic," Garrett guessed.  
  
"No, although that's what they thought for a long time. I can sense and manipulate energy fields,"  
Alyx said, trying not to cough again. She was afraid one of these times she'd start and not be able  
to stop.  
  
Garrett didn't really understand what that meant. "So that means, what? I'm sorry, it's not  
something I've dealt with before."  
  
Alyx laughed. "I'd be very surprised if you had. It means I can control the movement of air  
particles, as an example." He gave her a blank look. "Since they're moving, they give off energy,  
like water particles in a cloud building up a static charge. I can, to a degree, make them do what  
I want."  
  
"So that's how you stopped the flames in the air earlier," he said understanding at least partially.  
  
"That, and the fire itself is a form of energy," Alyx added.  
  
"Thanks," he said.  
  
"For what?" Alyx asked, stumbling a bit.  
  
"Saving my ass back there. I have a very good idea what that stuff would have done if it had landed  
on me," Garrett said quietly.  
  
"You have no idea. I saw what happened to you." Alyx got the sentence out in a rush, and when she  
didn't feel the terror trying to close in, continued. "Remember when I trashed the mug?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Sometimes, when I touch someone, I get flashes of what they are thinking and feeling. Sometimes I  
get more." She pulled him to a stop. "I saw you burning to death. Course, that doesn't come close  
to explaining it. I get everything. All senses, live and in surround sound. It was not a pleasant  
experience." She looked down at the ground unable to meet his eyes.  
  
"Don't imagine it was." He brought a hand up to her chin and tipped her face up to look at him.  
After searching her eyes for a moment, he leaned in and kissed her.  
  
Okay, weird timing, but Alyx wasn't about to argue. She really did like this man and responded to  
the kiss with all the energy she could muster. Her hands found their way up to his chest feeling  
the pounding of his heart beneath her hand. One of his were cupping her face and the other resting  
lightly on her lower back gently pulling her closer to him. It was wonderful, but no matter how much  
she liked this man she knew he was not who she really wanted to be with. She pushed that thought  
away as hard as she could. Still she managed to lose herself for a few minutes to the joyous  
sensations that this man was able to create within her.  
  
With a sigh he broke off the kiss and held her close. Now may not have been the best time, or the  
best place, but it didn't matter. For a few minutes, the rest of the world had faded from  
existence. He wished it could have lasted longer, but reality was quickly becoming a most pressing  
concern. He looked about them as he held her noting that the route he would have followed was  
swiftly being engulfed by the fires. The flames of the separate fires had joined behind them  
cutting off any possibility of retreat. Giving her a quick kiss on the forehead he said, "We need  
to move."  
  
"I know," Alyx said and gave him a smile.  
  
Together they trudged on.  
  
  
  
Darien paced back and forth in the lobby of the Visitor Center. All park guests had been evacuated  
as the seriousness of the situation became known. The team for the Agency arrived around nine am  
and took the fanatics into custody. Ranger Alisha Patterson had been temporarily assigned to assist  
them. Though how, she had yet to figure out. Information coming in was sketchy at best, and now that  
there were fires burning in the park being blown by wicked Santa Ana winds, anything they might need  
was placed far down on the list of importance.  
  
Darien found himself staring at the big map of the park mounted on one wall yet again. "Hobbes,  
what was it you guys saw?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, all the burns were relatively minor and never in the same place twice. Always a different  
region, a different tower area." Hobbes answered coming over.  
  
"So?" Darien had not been enlightened by his partner's answer.  
  
"So, they had been testing the response time of the fire crews." Hobbes said staring at the map.  
"They knew exactly where to plant the bombs to get the worst response. Also, by planting multiple  
ones they forced them to split their fire crews. Fewer men at each location. They've already called  
for help." Hobbes looked at Darien. "It's bad, and it's only going to get worse."  
  
Darien swore. "We have to do something," he said feeling frustrated. He had to admit to himself  
thought that he wasn't sure what upset him more--that Alyx was out there, or that she was out there  
with Garrett.  
  
"What would you like to do?" Ranger Patterson asked from a few steps behind them.  
  
"Find them," Darien snapped. "Not sit here waiting."  
  
"Good. Come with me." The two men looked at each other for a second and then followed the woman.  
She led them to Garrett's office in the back of the building and showed them a map she had unrolled  
on the desk. "Red is fire location, light red, burned but smoldering. Orange fire line. Yellow is  
projected path."  
  
The two men joined her behind the desk to get oriented properly and examined the map. "They're  
going to be cut off, aren't they?" Hobbes asked.  
  
"Unless they made it back to Fifteen and got the jeep, but I would have expected to have heard from  
them by now. I'm assuming they're on foot," Patterson answered.  
  
"Where would he go?" Darien asked, hoping her answer would bring good news.  
  
"Assuming he would try for here, he'd head along this route." She took a pencil and drew a line  
along the ridges of the hills in a  
southwesterly direction from Fifteen.  
  
"But they'll be cut off," Darien pointed out.  
  
"That's the problem," she said running her hands through her hair. "He'll see it, but I'm not sure  
where he'll go."  
  
Hobbes had been looking at the map through the conversation and pointed to a particular feature.  
"What's this?"  
  
"A dead end. Cliff over a dry riverbed. Too wide to jump across." she answered.  
  
"Could it protect them?" Hobbes asked a thought having appeared in his mind along with hope.  
  
"How? They can't get across and the fire will jump it easily." She was unsure what they were  
looking for.  
  
"What if they went down to the bottom of it?" Darien asked catching on.  
  
"They don't have the gear," she said shaking her head.  
  
"Assume they do. Could it protect them while the fire passes over?" Hobbes said trying to keep his  
excitement from creeping into his voice.  
  
"Yes, maybe. They'd risk suffocating as the fire draws off the oxygen, but yeah, it could work. And  
they could follow the creek bed out of the fire zone in relative safety." She was gaining  
confidence in the idea herself.  
  
"Will he think of it?" Darien asked Hobbes.  
  
"Nah, but the kid will. If she didn't memorize that map, I'll eat that orange shirt of yours,"  
Hobbes said. Then to Patterson, "Where would they come out, and around when?"  
  
"Here is where they'd end up." She pointed to a spot on the map. "When, depends on the time they're  
making. By morning at the latest, I would think. I'll alert the crews in that area to watch for  
them."  
  
"Can't we go look for them? Head up the ravine and try to meet them? Something?" Darien sounded  
more than a little impatient.  
  
"You care for her a lot, don't you?" she asked him.  
  
Darien froze like a deer caught in headlights. "Of course, she's my partner."  
  
"Ah," Patterson commented. "I think you need to at least be honest with yourself on this. I can't  
see you running after Mr. Hobbes here that way. I think you'd trust his abilities to get him out,  
if I'm not mistaken."  
  
Darien's mouth open and closed a few times but nothing came out.  
  
Hobbes rolled his eyes. "You didn't; you haven't; well, that explains a few things."  
  
Darien finally found his voice. "No we...I...haven't, Bobby. Alyx'd hurt me if I did."  
  
"True. Never seen anyone more standoffish than her." Hobbes hid a smile and allowed Darien to  
think he believed him.  
  
"Look can't we do something?" Darien said this time sounding irritated.  
  
"You aren't going to give up, are you?" she said, shaking her head. "All right, I'll get some gear  
together and we'll head out in an hour."  
  
Darien almost bounced in joy. "Thank you."  
  
"My boss is gonna fire my ass for this," she said, heading for the door.  
  
"We don't want you to get in trouble," Hobbes said, putting a hand on her arm as she passed. "Who's  
your boss, we'll clear it with him."  
  
She laughed a bit ruefully. "Good luck. It's Garrett."  
  
Hobbes dropped his hand feeling a bit stunned. "Garrett's your boss?"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah. Meet me out front in a hour." She walked out of the room switching to a run as  
soon as she was down the hall.  
  
Hobbes turned to Darien. "This had better work, or the Fat Man is going to kill us for losing the  
kid."  
  
"It'll work," Darien said, staring down at the map. "It has to."  
  
  
  
Alyx lay on the ground trying to breathe. They had been forced to give up walking the ridge tops.  
The smoke was just getting too thick; even shirts wrapped about their faces weren't helping much.  
After this rest they were going up and over the next ridge to get an idea of what the fires were  
doing. To see exactly how bad their situation was. The last time they had checked they were nearly  
surrounded by flames and were pretty darn sure that the only way out would require crossing the  
fire line at some point. Not an impossible task, but certainly not an easy one. And both of them  
were quickly running out of energy.  
  
"How old were you when you started college?" Alyx asked Garrett out of the blue.  
  
He looked over at her, boot in hand as he dumped collected dirt and sand out of it. At first he  
thought she had suddenly flipped, but she lay there calmly, her eyes closed as she tried to restore  
some energy. "Ummm, eighteen. Why?"  
  
"I was sixteen," she said, moving to rest on her elbows. She opened her eyes to look at him. They  
were just as red and irritated as his felt. "First time on my own."  
  
He put his boot back on and as he laced it felt her settle herself close behind him. "It was  
euphoric. No annoying brothers. No parents. No responsibilities except for those I chose. I thought  
it was heaven."  
  
Garrett wiggled his foot about to make sure the boot was comfortable; they had a long way to go  
yet. "Sounds like every other kid."  
  
"Maybe. I wish it had lasted. Maybe I wouldn't be here today." She got to her feet and held out  
her hand to help him up.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked, curious about where she was heading with this.  
  
"Not important," she said, shaking her head, shedding accumulated ash from her hair in a cloud.  
"Did you have nightmares those first few months you were at college?"  
  
He thought about it as they began to walk uphill. "Not that I recall."  
  
"I did," she said her voice dropping. "My parents..." Her voice choked off and it took her a  
moment to continue. "My parents were coming up for Thanksgiving. Some relatives lived nearby so  
they thought they'd visit me and have dinner with them."  
  
"Makes sense. What about your brothers?" he asked.  
  
"They were all off at college as well. Except my younger brother, and he had made plans of his own  
for that weekend. I was convenient," she said. "I told them not to come."  
  
They were nearly to the top of the hill and the smoke was getting nasty. Alyx stifled a cough and  
pushed her self harder to reach the summit. When they arrived, Garrett swore. The route he had  
planned to use was no longer viable. It was nothing but a mass of flaming vegetation. He wasn't  
sure what to do next. Alyx grabbed his arm and pulled him along the ridge top. He resisted. "Wrong  
direction. We need to head east."  
  
"I've got an idea," she said, pulling harder.  
  
"No. North won't work. The ridge dead ends at a cliff." His voice trailed off. Maybe, just maybe.  
He nodded. Looking at the fires about them he knew it would be close, but at least they stood a  
chance.  
  
Alyx picked up speed. Up ahead you could see that this ridge merged with others, and from what she  
remembered from the map they all dropped off into a dry creek bed. If they could make it there, it  
was possible the fire would pass right over their heads. It would leave them free to follow the  
creek out of the fire zone, but they had to beat the fire to the edge.  
  
The wind gusted about them, blowing ash and dust. They stayed close enough together that they  
didn't have to shout. Not that either had the energy to. Alyx swore under her breath as burning  
embers once again began to fall about them, carried on the strong winds.  
  
Anger was beginning to take precedence over the fear that was running under the surface of her  
emotions. Until she saw the dry grass ahead of them burst into flame. She froze and it was several  
steps before Garrett realized she was no longer next to him. When he did, he rushed back to her  
side and tried to pull her along.  
  
"Alyx we have to move now, before it gets any worse," he shouted at her.  
  
"I can't," she said in a barely audible voice shaking her head. "I can't"  
  
"You have no choice." He attempted to pick her up and move her, expecting her to remain  
unresisting. Instead he found himself with an armful of violently thrashing woman, screaming at him  
to let her go. "Alyx," he yelled, but she couldn't hear him. She was trapped in the past, trapped in  
her memories, reliving the one memory she would gladly have erased from her mind forever. Garrett  
refused to let go of her, but she did manage to get her feet back on the ground. He quickly found  
himself on the ground, trying to hold onto a woman who was far stronger than he thought possible  
given her size. "Alyx, you'll kill us both." He didn't yell. Just spoke quietly into her ear.  
  
She stopped struggling. "No, just my parents." She tried to sit up but he still held her. "Please  
let me go."  
  
Garrett did as she asked and helped her to sit up. "What about your parents?"  
  
Alyx got to her feet and backed away from him her eyes still a little wild. At least she was headed  
in the correct direction. "They wouldn't listen. They insisted it was just a dream. They wouldn't  
listen." Her voice started soft but rose with each sentence until she was shouting into the wind.  
"They wouldn't listen." She broke and ran straight for the flames.  
  
"Shit!" Garrett swore and followed her. He figured she had gone into a full blown panic attack and  
was running blind. He shouted her name hoping she would at least slow down, but if anything she ran  
harder. He was still several yards behind he when she ran for the flames. He was afraid to watch,  
but couldn't turn away. As she neared the fire line at a flat out run the flames parted before her,  
snuffed like a candle, allowing her to pass through unharmed. He was astonished for as soon as she  
was through the flames returned, burning just as enthusiastically as before. Looking over the  
situation he had no choice but to try and jump the fire line. He hoped that since the wind was  
blowing almost perpendicular to the way he was going that the fire line was not very wide yet.  
  
He ran trying to build up as much speed as he could and launched himself at the flames his hands  
coming up to protect his face. Turned out to be unnecessary; the flames died around him as he leapt  
and he came down directly in front of Alyx, who managed to catch him and slow his momentum. They  
both ended up on the ground, far nearer the fire than he liked, but alive and relatively unharmed.  
When she didn't move right away, he crawled over and looked down at her.  
  
"Alyx?" he said, hoping she wasn't hurt.  
  
"It killed them Max. They wouldn't listen and it killed them," she said quietly. "I killed them."   
Garrett backed away as she sat up and then got to her feet. She was still fighting off the terror  
the memories caused, but this time she'd used the adrenaline rush of a panic attack to her  
advantage. She'd managed to hold herself together just enough to get both of them through the fire.  
Now they had to outrun it.  
  
Getting to his feet Garrett followed her as she continued along the ridge at a near run, the flames  
following along behind them. It took about thirty minutes but they reached the edge. The drop was  
far longer than she had hoped. Spinning about as Garrett came up behind her she said, "I have an  
idea." She took off her pack and pulled out the dismantled bomb and held it for his inspection.  
  
"A back burn. Brilliant. It should buy us some time anyway," Garrett said truly impressed. "Want a  
job?"  
  
She smiled up at him as she reassembled the device. "Got one, thanks." She completed the job and  
checked the connections with her mind to make sure they were correct. Satisfied she stood up with  
it. "How far?" she asked him.  
  
"Couple of hundred yards should do," he answered after a moments thought.  
  
"Good enough," she said heading away at a jog. When she reached the desired distance, she set down  
the device, making sure that the explosion would be in the right direction and aiming slightly  
into the wind to compensate. It took mere moments. She set the timer for five minutes and ran back  
to Garrett.  
  
"Done. Now we have to figure out how to get down," Alyx said, lying down on her stomach and leaning  
out over the edge, hoping for a ledge or something not too far below them. She was pleased to note  
very little in the way of vegetation down below. Less to burn. She saw some possibilities about a  
third of the way down, but further down the cliff line she saw what she was looking for.  
  
"Oh Max dear, could you give me your learned opinion on this," Alyx said getting his attention  
immediately with her choice of words.  
  
He lay down beside her and looked in the direction she pointed. "About a quarter mile south. Please  
tell me it's a ledge."  
  
"Looks that way. Stable? I can't tell from here. And the tree line goes almost to the edge. If the  
fire reaches there before we get down we're..."  
  
"Toast?" Alyx finished with raised eyebrows.  
  
"That works." Behind them the device went off with a pop, barely audible over the wind. The flames  
came up quickly about another fifty or so yards from where she had set it down. The wind had reduced  
the distance the gel usually flew, but the back burn had been successfully begun. "Lets go," he said  
helping her to her feet. "We've got a place to be."  
  
"Max, no matter how this turns out, I want you to know I'm glad we met." Alyx waited for his  
reaction.  
  
"It's good to know a trial by fire is your kind of date," he said with a straight face.  
  
"This?" she said waving a hand about. "This is nothing. You should see my disappearing act."  
  
*****  



	4. Rescue

  
  
Trial by fire was putting it mildly. They were quickly running out of time and land. The back burn  
had been successful in slowing the fire, in this area anyway, but it could do nothing to prevent  
the wind from carrying embers and dropping them within yards of where they wanted to be. They could  
hear the roar of the flames, feel the superheated wind being pushed out by the fire, see nothing as  
the smoke thickened to the point of blindness. Irritated that their last chance might be stolen  
away by a whim of nature, Alyx reached out with her mind and cleared the air about them, brushing  
the smoke and ash away, allowing them a view of their target that was so very near.  
  
This was perhaps a mistake, for when she saw how close the flames would be she very nearly plunged  
into another panic attack. Her slight hesitation, and the instantaneous loss of control over the  
smoke, alerted Garrett that something was wrong. "Talk to me Alyx. Tell me what's wrong."  
  
"My parents," she said. She kept moving. Not letting the images that came unwanted to her mind stop  
her. "They died in a fire. Just like I told them. It was my fault."  
  
"You said something like that before. How did they die?" It was obvious she found this almost  
impossible to talk about, but he didn't question it. He somehow knew if she didn't get this story  
out, the fire about them would not allow her to escape. She would let it consume her to stop  
whatever was driving the panic attacks.  
  
"Car accident. The other driver was never caught, even though his car burned as well. But it was my  
fault." Alyx barely got the words out past the tightness in her throat that threatened to cut off  
her air.  
  
"How could it have been your fault?" he asked.  
  
"I told them not to come. The same nightmare, every night for two weeks, but they wouldn't believe  
me. Insisted it was nothing." She was nearly shouting now.  
  
"That doesn't make it your fault," Garrett insisted. "They made their choice. You did everything  
you could."  
  
Alyx stopped. They were standing over the spot where the hoped for ledge was, their time nearly  
out. "They were still alive in the car when I got there."  
  
"What?" he said taken aback.  
  
"I was driving back from the store and came upon the crash. My parents were still alive in their  
burning car, screaming in pain and terror, and all the fire crew was doing was hosing down the  
car." Her voice sounded far away as she relived that horrific day in her life. "I tried to get  
them out, watched as their hair burst into flames before my eyes, watched as they gave up the fight  
to free themselves as the heat burned out their lungs, listened to their final screams as I tried to  
open the door, tried to free them." She fell to her knees in tears she didn't even know she was  
crying. "They dragged me away, kicking and screaming, moments before the car exploded."  
  
"Alyx," he said kneeling down and wrapping his arms about her. "It wasn't your fault."  
  
"Why not? I saved you, didn't I? Why not them?" she shouted, pulling away from him and towards the  
edge of the cliff.  
  
"Did you have your abilities then?" he asked.  
  
"No," she answered quietly.  
  
"Then what could you do?" he said, walking towards her.  
  
"I...I...Nothing." For the first time in her life, she realized that it had not been her fault.  
She'd been sixteen, with abilities she admittedly didn't know she had, and had done everything she  
could to keep them from coming. The fact that she had happened upon the accident was coincidence,  
or perhaps fate. She saw exactly what she had dreamed, but she had caused neither. And if she  
wasn't at fault, someone else was. The question was, who? She was going to have a little talk with  
the Official when she got back. Not if, when. There was no way either Garrett or herself were going  
to spend their last moments out here.  
  
Looking off towards the fire, she was not thrilled to discover that it was nearly upon them.  
"C'mon, Max. Time to fly." Behind him a bush burst into flame. Alyx didn't hesitate but jumped off  
the edge of the cliff, spinning in air to face it. Reaching out, she used a combination of her  
powers and her hands to slow herself and ended up standing somewhat shakily on the ledge.  
  
She looked up seeing the flames flying overhead driven by the wind. "Jump!" she shouted.  
  
Garrett had watched her go over the edge with a combination of fear and astonishment. For moment he  
was afraid she was committing suicide, but when he looked down he saw her standing on the ledge  
below. He felt the burst of extreme heat behind him as the wind blew the flames overhead, so when  
she yelled jump, he did without hesitation.  
  
He fell, trying to slow his descent by grabbing at anything on the wall, but there was nothing. He  
hit the ledge far harder than he intended to and it crumbled beneath his weight. Alyx, by some  
miracle, grabbed his arm and held on. For a moment it looked like she'd be able to hold him until  
he got a secure footing on another section of the ledge, but it was not to be.  
  
Their combined weight caused the section beneath her to give, and together they fell. Alyx produced  
another miracle by grabbing a hold of the remaining section of the ledge. It held. She dangled from  
a small piece of ledge, holding it together with her mind, and held Garrett with her other hand.  
Alyx moaned as her shoulder was nearly dislocated when she stopped their fall.  
  
Garrett noticed it was getting not only hot, but damned hard to breathe. Looking up, he saw the  
flames jumping the ravine and the brush on the far side beginning to catch. The fire was so strong,  
so powerful, so demanding, it was drawing the air from the ravine up to feed itself.  
  
"Hold on Max. I'm going to do something," Alyx shouted down to him. She knew exactly what was going  
on. First she trapped a bubble of clean, fresh air about them, filtering in more as it became  
necessary. Second, she lifted Garrett up slightly with her mind, reducing the strain on her arm.  
Third, she quicksilvered the two of them, hoping that the insulating and cooling properties of the  
quicksilver would protect them from the inferno that was going to be around them for the next few  
minutes. The waiting had begun.  
  
  
  
Darien was pacing yet again. This time, though, he was outdoors next to the Humvee. The fire crew  
was arguing with Hobbes about letting them through to look for Alyx and Garrett. Patterson had been  
as good as her word. She had been waiting for them out in front of the building with everything they  
could need. First aid gear, water, food, ropes, shovels, small extinguishers, masks, air tanks, and  
those bright yellow jumpsuits and helmets the fire crews wore. She already wore one and ordered  
them to put theirs on. Remembering what Hobbes had said about dressing for conditions, Darien said  
nothing and put the ugly thing on. The sizes were approximate but would do for the time being.  
  
The fire had looked impressive enough from the Visitor's Center; from here it looked like hell  
itself. You could hear the flames as they destroyed everything they touched, could smell nothing  
but the smoke, see nothing but the ash falling like snow about them. The fire crew was trying to  
make a stand here at the head of the dry creek bed. In seasons when water flowed here, it formed a  
shallow lake that covered acres here where the cliffs ended. If they didn't divert the flames here,  
the fire would run free straight to the Visitor's Center itself, and from there across the Ventura  
Freeway and into more populated areas.  
  
Darien wandered over to listen to the argument.  
  
"Look, I can't let you go," The fireman was saying. "Even if they did make it to the riverbed, we  
got reports that the fire has already jumped the ravine. They would have suffocated when it passed  
over, if the heat didn't kill them first." He looked honestly upset. "I'm sorry for your friend.  
Garrett was mine and there is no way I'd go in after him. He knows this." Another fireman came  
over and said something in his ear. "Yeah, pack up." He said to the man. "Look we're pulling out.  
We've lost this fight. The fire has cut us off to the south. We're going to try and get around it  
and hopefully save HQ. I recommend you follow us." He didn't wait to see what they would do, but  
rushed off to help his men get the equipment packed and ready to go.  
  
Patterson joined the two men. "They're pulling out."  
  
"Yeah. We know. Question is, do we follow them or go after our friends?" Hobbes said.  
  
"It's nearly nightfall. If they survived this long, they should make it through the night," she  
said to them.  
  
"Do we want to take the chance?" Darien asked.  
  
After a moment of silence, they answered as one, "No!"  
  
"Let's help these guys get packed and then we'll book it. Maybe we'll luck out and they'll walk out  
on their own," Hobbes said.  
  
"Yeah, good idea," Darien said. They walked over to where the crew was rushing to get packed and  
added their shoulders to the work. "You know," Darien said to his partner, "We may save the free  
world on a weekly basis, but these guys are the real heroes."  
  
"You said it, my friend, you said it," Hobbes agreed.  
  
For the next hour, they worked their butts off to get the fire crew out of there in time to  
hopefully do some good elsewhere in the park. The crew chief once again tried to convince them to  
leave, but they refused, saying they were going to wait as long as they could in hopes their  
friends would show. He shook his head as he walked away, knowing that they were going to go after  
their friends, unable and a little unwilling to stop them. Silently, he wished them luck.  
  
They watched as the last of the trucks rumbled away, taillights flashing in the semi-darkness. It  
was full dark, but you'd never know it due to the orange glow just north of them. They weren't  
quite sure what to do next. They drank some water, grabbed something to eat, and waited for a sign.  
Bobby just about jumped out of his skin when his cell phone went off. Answering it, he got the shock  
of his recent existence.  
  
"Kid, where the hell are you?"  
  
  
  
It had to have been one of the longest thirty minutes of her life as she hung there from the ledge,  
holding on for dear life to Garrett while the fire raged overhead and the wind in the ravine blew  
past them, causing them to sway. Somewhere along the way Garrett managed to shift and get his feet  
secured against the wall, easing the strain on her arm. With a little help on his part, she pulled  
him up until he had climbed onto an undamaged section of the ledge. Alyx didn't dare let go of him;  
the quicksilver would no longer be flowing across him if the connection was broken, and that would  
leave him exposed to the swirling heat and embers that were flying around the two of them.  
Thankfully he wasn't asking questions, not yet anyway.  
  
With his help and a couple of false starts they got her up next to him. Pressed against the wall,  
she created a barrier around them that allowed air in but kept out as much debris as she was able.  
"How much longer?" she asked him, her voice raw from breathing in the hot dry air that surrounded  
them.  
  
"Don't know. Soon I hope." He squeezed her hand tightly.  
  
It seemed like forever. The flames, the heat , the smoke, they all merged into one long agonizing  
blur. Then the wind died, no longer whipping its way down the ravine, and their breathing became  
easier. They both looked up to see smoke but no flames. The orange glow had moved to the far side  
of the ravine. Hot embers from the burned area still whipped about them, but the worst had passed.  
Alyx desilvered them and dropped the wall that had been protecting them. She nearly passed out in  
relief.  
  
"You'll explain later, right?" Garrett said.  
  
"I promise," she said, realizing that it had gotten dark out while they had been waiting for the  
fire to pass. "Good lord, what time is it?"  
  
Garrett looked at his watch. "Dead," he said shaking it. "Let's get to the bottom." He led the way  
along the ledge which did lead them down closer to the bottom. Where it ran out, it sloped, not  
exactly gently, to the ground. "Ladies first," he said gesturing at the slope.  
  
Alyx grinned at him. "First, gee thanks. Second, I'm no lady." She hopped off the ledge, landing  
sideways on purpose, and allowed herself to slide down the hillside. Her hand trailed on the ground  
to add some attempt at balance. She made it to the bottom upright for the most part, her palm a bit  
scraped and raw, and a brand new collection of rocks in her boots. She backed a couple of steps  
from the base and sat down, hard, her legs deciding that they had had enough excitement for now,  
thank you very much. She waved up at Garrett and began pulling off her boots to return the rocks to  
their natural environment.  
  
Garrett had watched her little slide down the slope with mixed emotions. One the one hand, it was a  
rather impressive display of athletics. On the other, she had to be nuts. Using a bit more caution,  
he followed her down, finding the slide easier then he imagined it would be. That was because Alyx  
was helping him, supporting him, seeing that he kept his balance, moving any overt obstacles out of  
his way. Arriving at the bottom, he sat down beside her.  
  
"Gods, I am so tired," she muttered emptying her other boot. "And I can't recall ever being this  
thirsty before."  
  
"I know both feelings. Any chance you have another water bottle hidden in that pack of yours?"   
Garrett ran his hands through his hair, knocking up a cloud of ash and dust.  
  
Alyx chuckled at the sight fully realizing that she probably looked worse than he did. "I don't  
think so, but I'll check." She put the bag between her knees and dug through it. No water, but she  
pulled out her cell phone to check the time. It was after eight at night, full dark except for the  
eerie orange glow over everything. Just for the hell of it she dialed Bobby's cell number.  
  
"Alyx, that won't work down here. Unless he happens to be standing at the end of the ravine,"  
Garrett said.  
  
She heard the phone ring at her end and then it connected. "Bobby you there?" she said her voice  
filled with hope.  
  
"Kid, where the hell are you?" Bobby practically shouted in her ear.  
  
She laughed in relief. "Did that already today. Think we could arrange a rescue?"  
  
"Hold on a sec," Bobby said. Alyx heard the sound of the phone changing hands.  
  
"Agent Silver, is Garrett with you?" It was the voice of Ranger Patterson.  
  
"Sure." Alyx handed the phone to Garrett. "It's Patterson."  
  
"What's your location Patterson?" he said, suddenly businesslike, into the phone. "Perfect, we're  
about ten miles north of you. We'll start heading your way and we'll meet somewhere north of the  
middle." He handed the phone back to her.  
  
"Hey Bobby," she said.  
  
"Alyx, you okay?" It wasn't Bobby.  
  
"Darien, I'm okay. A little worse for wear, but okay." Alyx's voice softened as she answered him.  
"Get moving bub. We'll see you in a while."  
  
"Right. See you soon," Darien said, his voice sounding a bit stiff. She heard the dead air as he  
shut off his end and did the same with hers.  
  
"Do you always get that lucky?" Garrett asked, getting to his feet. He held out his hand and she  
took it, letting him help her up. She wasn't kidding when she said she was tired.  
  
"Not always. But I try not to complain when I am," she said looking into his eyes.  
  
For a moment, he was tempted to take advantage of the situation, knowing that not long from now  
they would be reunited with their friends, with reality, and forced to take up their lives and  
duties again. But he decided against it. He would rather wait until after and find out if it was  
anything more than just a side effect of the situation they had been in. He was pretty sure about  
his feelings, but he wanted to give her a chance to sort out hers. Placing a hand on her shoulder  
they started their walk towards safety.  
  
  
  
Darien handed the phone back to Bobby, a look of consternation on his face. The relief he felt  
knowing she was alive and all right took a huge weight off his mind. The fact that she had sounded  
fine, a little tired maybe, but well enough to joke with him-well, it bothered him for some reason.  
They all climbed into the Humvee, Patterson behind the wheel since she knew the area the best, and  
they got moving. With the terrain and conditions, it would probably be close to an hour before they  
met up with Alyx and Garrett.  
  
"Hold on guys. We might have a problem," Patterson said slowing the vehicle a short time later.  
  
"What's the problem?" Hobbes asked looking out the windshield. he couldn't see much because of the  
smoke everywhere. They were far enough into the ravine that the walls were well above their heads.  
  
"Look up," she said.  
  
He did and saw the flames flying over head, jumping across the distance driven by the wind. "What  
now?"  
  
"We can wait for it to pass or try to go ahead, risking suffocation, burning, death. You know, the  
usual," she answered lightly.  
  
"They made it through. How bad can it be?" Darien said. "Look, they busted their butts to make it  
this far. I say we go for it and get them out of there."  
  
"I have agree with my partner here. Let's go for it," Bobby said, much to Darien's amazement.  
  
"Good. I was worried I'd have two screaming men when I drove through," Patterson said, revving the  
engine. "You can call me Alisha. Two cute guys calling me Patterson all the time is annoying." She  
hit the accelerator and they jumped forward. For a few minutes it got very warm in the vehicle as  
they bounced over the ground. Visibility was reduced to near nothing. It became difficult to  
breathe. And then they passed beyond the fire line.  
  
Alisha slowed the Humvee and sat shaking for a moment. "You know, I never want to do that again."  
  
"Neither do I," Darien muttered from the backseat.  
  
She started moving again, at a much more reasonable speed this time. It wouldn't be too much longer  
before they found their friends.  
  
  
  
Alyx didn't know how long they'd been walking and didn't really care anymore. She just kept  
plodding along, her spike of energy at knowing they were going to be rescued long since worn away.  
Garrett couldn't be doing any better than she, yet he didn't seem to show it. She had been using  
powers he didn't have, which added to her exhaustion. She stumbled over something in the dark. She  
was no longer able to focus, much to her dismay. She made it a few more feet before stumbling  
again. Catching herself, she watched Garrett's back as he continued walking. Sighing, she  
stretched, hoping it would help get her senses working something like normal again. A few steps  
later she found herself on her knees, without being quite sure how she had gotten there.  
  
"Crap," she said, her voice barely audible even to herself. She cleared her throat. "Garrett," she  
called as loudly as she could manage.  
  
He stopped and came back to her. "You could have said something sooner," he said kneeling down  
beside her.  
  
"By the time I figured it out, I was down here wondering what happened," Alyx said. "Gods, I feel  
sick."  
  
"You're dehydrated. Alisha will have water with her. It shouldn't be too much longer." He helped  
her to sit instead of panting on her hands and knees. "You just rest for now."  
  
"Yes sir," she said setting her chin on her knees. Although she tried to stop it, her eyes drifted  
shut. She managed not to fall asleep and just dozed, thinking. Somewhere along this nightmare day  
she had changed. The wall she had put up between herself and the rest of the world had crumbled. It  
had nothing to do with the fire or the past and everything to do with the man sitting beside her.  
For the first time in a very long time she trusted someone. Although she wanted to, tried to, she  
still was not able to trust anyone from the Agency, including Darien and Hobbes. This was a big  
part of why, no matter what she felt for him, she and Darien would go nowhere. Garrett, on the  
other hand...  
  
Garrett sat down next to her and pulled her over to lean against him. She sighed and mumbled  
something he couldn't quite catch. He shook his head at her. "Go to sleep."  
  
"Don't want to," Alyx said cracking open one eye to look at him. "You might try to take advantage  
of me."  
  
"It's no fun when you fall asleep in the middle," he said, smiling.  
  
"Know this from experience, do you?" Alyx said, going along with the joke.  
  
"Alyx, I fully intend for you to be wide awake should anything like that happen between us,"  
Garrett said, leaning in to give her a quick kiss. Which didn't remain a "little" kiss for very  
long.  
  
Alyx happily relaxed into what he was doing, one of her hands moving to his shoulder while his  
hands came up to caress her face. She was tempted to tell him not to, because she was sure she was  
filthy, but then realized he was pretty much in the same state. She had decided somewhere over the  
course of this long day to give Max a chance. There was no real reason not to, and for the first  
time in a very, very, long time, she not only wanted someone but wasn't afraid to act upon it for  
one reason or another.  
  
They both looked up startled as very bright light washed across them. Alyx squinted at it and  
Garrett got to his feet and stepped in front of Alyx as a precaution. It wouldn't go over too well  
if after everything else she got run over by the people who were trying to rescue her.  
  
The Humvee screeched to a halt a few feet from them. The doors opened and the two men rushed to the  
woman on the ground. Alisha came around after going to the back of the vehicle and grabbing some  
supplies. She handed a bottle of water to Garrett, asking if he was okay, and then knelt down next  
Alyx and handed her one. When she could not open the bottle, Darien took it from her and opened it.  
Alyx drank down half the bottle without stopping for air.  
  
"Easy there, kid. Too fast and you'll make yourself sick," Bobby said to her.  
  
"Good you see you too, Bobby," she said and turned to Darien. "Hey you, why am I betting you are  
the one who got this cavalry going."  
  
Darien smiled at her. "You'd win." He was far more relieved she was all right than anything else.  
  
"Can you get up?" Alisha asked, taking one of Alyx's arms. Darien took her other and they got her  
to her feet. "Everyone in. We're getting out of here."  
  
Hobbes sat up front with Alisha, Darien and Garrett in the back with Alyx in between.  
  
"I feel like a barbecue after a hard summer of use," Alyx said settling back into the seat.  
  
"Look the part too," Darien commented. He was tying to lighten the mood. It had been a long day of  
worry for all of them.  
  
Alyx glared at him as she drank down the rest of the water.  
  
Garrett leaned forward to talk to Alisha. "How bad is it?"  
  
"They're pretty sure they're going to lose HQ. We had to drive through the fire line to get  
here." She turned around in her seat and answered him. She noticed the exhaustion lines around his  
eyes and mouth. He was going to need time to recover and he'd be getting very little.  
  
"Go north and take the Fallow creek route. That should put us near the highway well north of the  
fire line," Garrett said after thinking for a moment. "This beast should be able to handle it."  
  
"We got to get some of these, boss. They handle so much better than the jeeps." She sounded half  
in awe of the vehicle.  
  
"When I regain consciousness, ask me to give you my contact. Might be able to arrange something for  
y'all." Alyx started clearly enough, but ended with a yawn.  
  
As the Humvee moved off into the night, Garrett sat back intending to catch some sleep as well.  
Alyx was out almost immediately and Garret plucked the nearly empty bottle from her hands before it  
could spill. She proceeded to lean against him, much to his pleasure and Darien's obvious irritation.  
  
"So how bad was it? If you feel up to talking, that is," Bobby asked, looking over towards Garrett.  
He tried not to smile as Alyx tipped over, her head in Garrett's lap and her feet curling up on  
Darien's. "Well you got her to trust you, that's a first."  
  
"Didn't have much choice." He rubbed his face with his hands. "I think I might like to have a word  
with your boss when I get a free moment. Sending her out here had to have been the dumbest idea  
ever."  
  
"Really, and why is that?" Darien asked his tone anything but friendly.  
  
"Ask her yourself. It's not my place," Garrett said to Darien.  
  
"Got that right," Alyx mumbled. "Could you two manage not to butt heads for a little while? Worse  
than stags during the rut." Her voice trailed off into a mumble near the end, but they all heard  
her.  
  
Alisha tried, she really did, but the laughter bubbled out anyway and she very nearly had to pull  
over she was laughing so hard.  
  
*****  



	5. Momentary Joy + Epilogue

  
WARNING: Mild sexual situation in this section  
  
  
  
Alyx woke up with a start and tried to figure out where the hell she was. Her last clear memory  
involved.... It took a moment but she remembered. The EMT's giving her and Garrett the once-over  
after they had driven out of the park and caught up with one of the fire crews. She tried to run  
her hand through her hair and regretted it immediately. Then she caught sight of her reflection in  
the mirror mounted over the bureau. She almost didn't recognize herself. Except for the eyes being  
the correct color, the person was a stranger. Her hair so soot-covered it was completely gray. Her  
clothes were a total loss, between the dirt and the burn holes. She couldn't even tell what color  
her skin was supposed to be. She must have been completely exhausted to have slept in this  
condition.  
  
Looking about the room, she saw what looked like her travel duffel tossed on a chair and was  
pleased to discover it was. She sought out the bathroom and was enraptured with the oversized  
freestanding shower. The jacuzzi tub tempted her, but not before she got the first five layers of  
crud off. Shedding her clothes, she felt slightly guilty leaving them on the floor of whoever's  
place this was, but there was no way she was going to go another moment in them. She turned on the  
water, not caring that it was cold, and started to rinse off the grime.  
  
Trying to free her hair from the braid turned out to be a challenge. The elastic holding it had  
melted into her hair at some point and had become a permanent resident. Sticking her head out the  
door of the shower, she mentally looked about and found a pair of scissors in one of the drawers.  
She floated them over to herself and plucked them out of the air. With only a twinge of regret, she  
cut her hair about an inch above the damage, placed the scissors and the fried hair on the ledge in  
the shower, and went about freeing the braid.  
  
The water had finally warmed and she was attempting to wash her hair when the shower door opened  
and Garrett stepped in with her.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked, startled.  
  
"It's my shower," he answered, moving under the spray. "You don't remember, do you."  
  
Alyx shook her head. "Not much of anything after the EMT's."  
  
"Here, let me help," he said, his hands moving to work out some of the knots that had taken over  
her hair. "Not surprised, you slept the clock round."  
  
Okay, so she was indeed standing with a virtually unknown man in his shower and she wasn't reacting  
beyond being glad it was him trying to get the knots out and not her. He obviously fell into the  
safe category as far as her mind was concerned because she had not reacted to his presence even  
before he entered the shower with her. Most people couldn't get within a hundred feet of her  
without her being aware of it. Only Darien, and now Garrett, and the former only about half the  
time.  
  
"Slept the clock round?" she asked as he began to lather her hair. His hands gently and deftly  
working out the snarls and snags that had seemingly become permanent residents thanks to their  
adventure. After several minutes of relaxed enjoyment, part of her brain kicked back in. "Where are  
Bobby and Darien?"  
  
Max had wondered how long it would take her to ask. "At a hotel well out of the danger area. They  
had some work to finish up and were pretty tired as well." He let the water rinse her hair. "They  
worked their butts off, helping some of the fire crews and rescuing us." He turned her around to  
look at her and she smiled up at him.  
  
For the first time in a very, very long time, she was standing next to a man and felt no fear, no  
discomfort, no worry that she was going to be used in someone else's little game. Standing here  
with him felt right, felt safe, felt wonderful to put it mildly. Like a huge weight she didn't know  
she'd been carrying had been lifted from her.  
  
"Did you know there was a lovely shiner hidden under the dirt?" he said brushing his hand along her  
cheek.  
  
"That would explain why it hurts I guess." She looked him over. "You got yourself a collection as  
well." Her hands traced a path from one burn or scrape to another on his arms and chest. She'd  
never have guessed that he was this well defined under those clothes. "How bad is it out there?"  
  
He shivered at her touch. He had hoped she wouldn't toss him out when he decided to try this little  
stunt and his mind was quickly being distracted by her. "Bad. We lost HQ late this morning and the  
fire jumped the highway in three areas," he answered softly. "I don't want to talk about it right  
now, okay?"  
  
"Sure." If she was going to say more it was lost to the kiss he gave her.  
  
This was not for a minute a chaste kiss, and it was gentle for no more than an instant. Everything  
from the past couple of days mingled with the desire he felt for her and poured out of him in that  
kiss. From the moment he had awoken that morning and looked in at her sleeping on his bed, he knew  
it was more than the exigencies of the situation that attracted him to her. He wanted her in his  
bed, for tonight, for tomorrow, for always if he could arrange it. He knew there would be  
obstacles, but right now he didn't care and threw caution to the wind.  
  
Alyx melted into his touch, but instead of being buried under the kiss she returned it with as much  
fervor, surprising herself at the depth of feelings she had for him. She had the advantage of being  
able to see, feel, know more than perhaps she should. She had a very good idea how he felt about  
her and she couldn't help but feel honored by it. Given time, she could easily fall for this man.  
He had seen her through the fire, literally, watched her nearly breakdown before him, watched her  
do things few if any other people in the world could do, and he was still here. He wanted to be  
here, by choice. Who was she to turn him away?  
  
Garrett broke the kiss, breathing heavily. His hands slowly began to explore the curves of her body  
and she stood there quietly, allowing him the time to seek and find and touch and excite. When she  
moaned the first time he nearly lost it. So low, so full of meaning, so exciting. His mouth found  
her jaw line and he kissed his way back to her ear. "Alyx."  
  
"Hmmm. What?" she said her voice breathy and more than a little rough.  
  
"Are you sure about this?" he asked hoping like hell she wasn't about to say no.  
  
She laughed lightly. "Max, I'd have thrown you out of here if I wasn't sure about this." Then she  
took one of his hands and placed it between her legs, where it became instantly obvious exactly how  
she felt about the situation.  
  
Garrett groaned and Alyx chuckled, until the movements of his hand made her forget everything else  
for a time.  
  
  
Sometime later they lay in his bed. Garrett shifted as if to move off of her but she held him in  
place. "I like you where you are," she said.  
  
"I like me here too," he returned. He kissed her lightly on her brow. Savoring her presence for a  
few moments more. "Are you in love with Darien?"  
  
"What?" she was a little surprised, both at the question and the timing. She had just spent the  
last several hours making love with this man, getting pleasantly euphoric every time he touched  
her, and he goes and asks her that?  
  
"Max..."  
  
"You are, aren't you?" He didn't sound upset, didn't sound angry, more like he was stating  
something obvious that until now he hadn't wanted to admit to.  
  
"No, I'm not." Alyx said truthfully. "It's different, something else that I can't really  
explain." She stopped her hand coming up to trace along the edge of his jaw, her thumb running  
across his lips. "But nothing will ever come of it. I won't let it."  
  
"I don't understand," Garrett said, sounding a bit confused as she ran her hand back through his  
hair.  
  
"For reasons I can't go into I won't let myself involved with him. His friend, his partner, yeah.  
But it will never go further than that." She lifted her head up and kissed him. "I'm here with you  
because I want to be and I think we could have something more than just friendship."  
  
He did move then and she didn't stop him, but he didn't let go of her. Shifting her until she lay  
with her head on his shoulder. "Well, since you're in my bed I would certainly hope so."  
  
Alyx laughed. Relieved he was at least trying to understand and that she was no longer fighting  
with herself. With Max she could just be herself. "Max..."  
  
"Alyx, sleep. I have the feeling both of us are going to have a very long day tomorrow," he said  
quietly. He had a fire to fight and she had a pair of overly concerned partners to face.  
  
"Yes sir," she mumbled. Sleep already trying to take her again.  
  
It was long time before Max slept, however.  
  
  
  
Darien pushed the food around his plate, not really interested in eating at the moment. He wasn't  
sure what he was. Alyx had been given the choice of heading to a hotel with her partners or  
crashing at Garrett's place and she had chosen Garrett, much to Darien's surprise and dismay.  
Granted, she'd only been semi-conscious, but he still felt hurt that she'd chosen a virtual  
stranger over him.  
  
"Fawkes, would you stop moping around? It's depressing me," Hobbes said from across the room.  
  
"I'm not moping," Darien said, lifting his head to look at his partner.  
  
"So, you've been pushing that food around your plate for the last twenty minutes for a reason?"   
Hobbes wondered with a smile. "Look, the kid made her choice. Let her have what life outside of the  
Agency she can." His tone turned serious. "Do you think she'd be acting this way if you found  
someone?"  
  
"No," he mumbled. That was part of the problem. He stood and shoved his plate back on the room  
service cart, no longer feeling hungry. "So what do we have left to do?"  
  
"We're done," Hobbes answered. "I'm planning on heading back early tomorrow. Between the boss  
wanting us back and you probably needing a shot, I thought it would be best."  
  
"Shouldn't we let Alyx know?" Darien commented, somehow managing not to stumble over her name.  
  
"I got ahold of Garrett. She was still sleeping. He'll tell her." Hobbes answered, knowing that it  
wasn't over for his partner. He and the kid were just going to have to work things out on their own.  
  
"Wonderful," Darien said without conviction. "I'm going down to the bar. I'll be back later." He  
walked out of the room his shoulders slumped.  
  
Hobbes shook his head at the closed door. It was looking to be a long ride home tomorrow.  
  
  
  
When the phone rang just after six am, Alyx had been awake for a while. She had fallen back into  
her normal pattern of only four or so hours of sleep at night. Beside her Max grumbled a bit then  
leaned over her to reach his phone. "Garrett," he growled into it. "Yeah, hold on." He handed the  
phone to her. "It's Hobbes."  
  
She reached for the phone but before he allowed her to take it from his hand he claimed a kiss from  
her, one that went on long enough that he woke up and Hobbes began to holler at her over the phone  
line.  
  
Alyx laughed and then pulled the phone from his now unresisting grasp. "Hey, Hobbes. What's up?"  
  
"You better be, kid. We'll be by in thirty minutes to pick you up." he said. "Time to head home."  
  
"I'll be ready Bobby," Alyx replied trying not to let what Max was doing and where he was doing it  
distract her too much.  
  
"You okay?" he asked, a hint of concern in his voice.  
  
"Fine, Bobby. Thirty minutes." She shut off the phone and grabbed a handful of Max's hair to get  
his attention.  
  
"Yes?" he asked lifting his head to look at her with a broad grin.  
  
"Just hurry," she said a bit breathlessly. She released him and he moved over her, lowering his  
head to kiss her again.  
  
"They can wait," he said into her ear.  
  
Her response didn't exactly involve words.  
  
  
  
Alyx was standing on Max's front porch, sipping her coffee, waiting for the guys to show up. They  
were late, as usual. For all that he hadn't wanted to hurry, Max had been unable to go all that  
slow, but neither of them had gone away unsatisfied. When the slightly singed Humvee pulled up out  
in front of his house, Alyx was as ready to leave as she could be.  
  
"Hey. You be careful," Max said coming out the door and walking up behind her.  
  
She turned part way to look up at him. "Me? Who's going to be out chasing fires?"  
  
"Huh. Good point. How about we both be careful," he said taking the coffee cup from her hand. He  
didn't give her a chance to respond and kissed her. "I'll call you when I can."  
  
"You'd better, or I'll have to hunt you down," she said with a smile. "Thanks Max. For  
everything." She was talking about a lot more than even he knew. She'd tell him eventually, but  
not right now.  
  
"You're welcome. Now get going before one or both of your partners comes after me for detaining  
you," he said handing her bags to her. The backpack would need to be replaced, it was thoroughly  
trashed and smelled of singed nylon. Ick.  
  
She looked at him one last time and then jogged down the stairs to the Humvee that Bobby was  
joyously driving. Opening the rear door, she slid in and tossed her bags in the cargo area. "Hey  
guys."  
  
"Morning, kid," Bobby said as he put the Humvee in gear and drove away. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Not bad, Bobby. Not bad at all." Alyx leaned forward to rest her arms on the back of the front  
seat. "Morning Dare."  
  
He grunted something unintelligible.  
  
Alyx took the hint. It was a long ride home.  
  
  
  
Epilogue  
  
Alyx sat in the Official's office a couple of weeks later looking over the file Eberts had acquired  
for her. It contained the official reports about her parent's accident. It had been far easier to  
obtain than she had ever hoped, given that the case was a good twenty years old. It had come as a  
bit of a surprise to find out it was still technically an open case, sitting neglected in the cold  
case file. Her parent's death had been listed as suspicious, probable murder, but at the time the  
police had run into one stone wall after another and within months the case had been dead in the  
water. It was even mentioned in one of the reports that it was like someone had made sure all the  
trails disappeared or that they lead in tight little circles that went nowhere.  
  
The cause of death was pretty much what she had expected: they had both burned to death, probably  
suffocating long before the flames had done enough physical damage to actually kill them. It was  
the report on the car that caught her attention. Turned out the doors weren't just locked. They'd  
been jammed shut so that there was no way to open them. Also, they had found residue of some  
unknown chemical that had been smeared all over the underbody of the car, in the trunk, and under  
the hood. This was the reason the fire had been so intense, why they had been unable to put it out.  
Why, from the moment the other car had hit them, triggering the fire, there had been nothing anyone  
could have done. Not without superpowers anyway.  
  
It hadn't been her fault. She had done everything she could have possibly done. She'd failed, but  
the blame was not hers.  
  
They had never found the driver of the other car. It had been empty when the fire crews arrived,  
and it had been rigged to burn just like her parent's car had. Someone, for some as yet unknown  
reason, had her parents killed.  
  
She closed the file and got up, looking forward to this evening. She was leaving here to spend the  
weekend with Max. They had finally gotten the fires under control up there and he, being the boss  
and all, had decreed he was unavailable for this entire weekend and invited her to come up and stay  
for a few days. She had agreed on one condition: no barbecues. Instead he had suggested a day at the  
beach, complete with picnic. There was no way she could say no to that. Not that she wanted to. Far  
from it. She had missed him over the couple of weeks. His voice over a phone line, though welcome,  
was not the same.  
  
Eberts and the Official were watching the television, ostensibly CNN, but she suspected it was the  
soaps again, when the National news feed broke in. Alyx let it flow past her until she heard a  
particular name. She rushed over to stand behind the Official and watched, stunned, as the news  
anchor repeated the information. A group calling themselves the Messengers of God had bombed  
several buildings in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, in retribution for those  
that had been arrested for arson two weeks earlier. One death had been confirmed, that of Maxwell  
Garrett, Regional Director for the National Parks Department, and one of the persons responsible  
for the capture of the six men being held.  
  
The news anchor droned on but Alyx no longer heard.  
  
Guilt is always jealous.  
  
Yeah, I'll admit I had been jealous of Garrett, and maybe a bit angry at Alyx. And I'll admit I had  
a few rather nasty thoughts pass through my mind concerning the two of them. But, this, this was  
never what I wanted to happen.  
  
She had finally come out from behind that mask, and one senseless act of violence thrust her back  
behind it. The only thing I could do was wait.  
  
Finis  
  
  
  



End file.
